All This & Stay Tuned, Kids!
by Thayne M
Summary: Followup to Comfort Love & Cary Grant. Mostly LL, some JR.NOW COMPLETE! Ain't it grand? RR, please!
1. Holy Marie Studholme, Batman!

**Disclaimer: **_**Contrary to what my REM fools me into thinking, I do NOT own "Gilmore Girls," or any of its characters. As an extension of that, I DO own a freakishly strong envy of Amy Sherman-Palladino!**_

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Lorelai charged down the stairs and leaned against the railing, glaring intently at her daughter, who sat reading on the couch. "You know what I _hate_?" She began pushing her hair back until it hung in a sloppy ponytail with numerous bumps and fly-aways. "I hate stress. Stress is annoying. Stress undoes all my prettiness. Stress is..." Her voice trailed off and her lips tightened as she gestured around in a rage.

"Stressful?" Rory offered, closing her book.

"Exactly!" Lorelai shouted, then smacked her hand against the railing. "Stress is stressful!"

"Who woulda thunk it?" Rory said with mock-seriousness.

Her mother pointed a warning finger at her, "Hey, don't be cute." She stomped into the kitchen and Rory heard the tell-tale sound of coffee being poured, then the refrigerator being opened and slammed shut much harder than necessary. She stood quickly and ran to the kitchen, where her mother had begun to slam a carton of milk against the table. "Empty! In the refrigerator! Empty and in the refrigerator. In the refrigerator, empty!"

"Mom. _Mom_!" Rory grabbed her mother's shoulders and forced her into one of the wooden chairs. "What is _wrong_ with you today?"

Lorelai covered her face with her hands and groaned with frustration, "This shouldn't be so hard. I'm acting like a complete idiot."

"Is it something bad?" Lorelai shook her head in her hands. "So, its good?" She nodded. "Is it _really_ good?" Another nod. "Well, come on, Mom. What is it?"

Lorelai smacked her hands into her lap, "I'm dating Luke," she said quickly, then promptly covered her face again. She started rambling, "Actually, I don't know if we're really dating or not, but we've kissed somewhere around five times and last night was sort of a date and I felt really bad because I never told you and I figured that I should tell you because I know and Luke knows and Jess knows and you didn't know and that was stressing me because you're my daughter and you _should_ know but you didn't and I don't know why I didn't tell you but--"

"Mom, Mom, Mom," Rory held up her hands to stop the rambling. She shook her head, trying to process it all, and then looked her mother in the eye and let out a squeal, "Mom, oh my god!"

"What?"

"You kissed Luke? And you might be dating? Oh my _god_."

Lorelai stood slowly, nervously, "Okay, honey, you're gonna have to let on more than that. Is this a 'throw-a-party-and-dance-through-the-streets' kind of 'oh my god,' or a 'hey-let's-massacre-my-mom' kind of 'oh my god?'"

Rory raised her eyebrows, "This is a 'I-can't-believe-its-finally-happened-and-I'm-incredibly-thrilled-for-my-mom' kind of 'oh my god.'" She started in to hug her mother, but Lorelai stepped back and caught her arms with her own.

"That was _not_ an option." They stared at each other for a moment before smiling and rushing into a tight hug. "Aw, honey, you're thrilled?"

"Be_yond_ thrilled." Rory pulled back and did a little happy-hop, "This totally explains all the weirdness lately, too. Jeez, I'm so blind. I can't believe I didn't figure it out."

"I can't believe it either," Lorelai said in mock-disappointment, "I mean, even Jess figured it out before you."

"I could switch to being mad at you, if you like."

"No!" Lorelai hugged her, "I was just kidding. Jess used his evil mind powers; that's how he figured it out. You're still the smartest girlie in town, and the funniest, and the prettiest, and let's go to Luke's." She pulled away and went to the front door.

Rory trailed after her, "You just have a bouncy, _bouncy_ brain today," she informed her. They went out to the jeep and drove to the diner, all the way with Rory smiling in the front seat, seemingly pleased with the idea of her mother dating Luke. The smile was contagious, and by the time they got to the diner, they were both smiling noticably.

When they approached the counter, Luke raised an eyebrow at them, "You two could scare Marie Studholme."

Lorelai turned to Rory and put a hand on her arm, "That's code for 'good morning and you're pretty.'"

Rory nodded knowingly at Luke, "Well, in that case, you could scare Marie Studholme, too!" They all looked over when they heard Jess running down the stairs. He turned the corner and ran behind the counter, picking up a coffee pot.

"I know," he said without looking at Luke, "I'm late. I overslept. My alarm clock didn't go off."

Luke took the pot from his nephew's hands, "Would you settle down? I turned off your alarm. You were up late last night, and I thought I'd let you get some extra sleep. Now, sit down, relax; I'll make you something to eat."

Jess gave him a crooked glance, "Thanks," he said slowly. He walked around the counter and sat down on the stool next to Lorelai.

Rory leaned forward to look at Jess and gave him a kind smile, "You could scare Marie Studholme, Jess!"

Lorelai bit back laughter when Jess's face wrinkled in confusion. She gave him a reassuring pat on the back, "Its a compliment."

"Oh," he mumbled, "Well, um, thanks. You...too?"

"Aw," Rory teased, "Mom, Jess thinks I'm pretty!"

"Yes," Lorelai put her arm around her daughter's shoulders and pulled her close, "Just remember, sweetie, you thought he was pretty first."

Luke watched all of this and rolled his eyes, "Look what I've started. You guys ready to order or what?" The consensus was pancakes and cheddar omelets, so Lorelai came up with the idea that Luke should make the largest omelet possible and then put it on top of the largest pancake possible and let them split it. This idea was shot down not only by Luke, but also by Rory and Jess, who could all see the disaster in that situation. Lorelai pouted and muttered something about everyone conspiring against her, and Luke took pity. When he arrived with their plates, Lorelai was elated to find that he had made her omelet almost twice the normal size and gave her a couple extra pancakes. She gave him a sweet smile that started at the lips, but ended at the eyes, which stayed locked for about the longest moment in history. Noticing that Rory was watching this moment with a smile, Jess took a pen out of his back pocket and scribbled something on a napkin and handed it to her behind Lorelai.

Rory unfolded the napkin and barely managed to hold back a laugh: _**Are you in the loop?**_

She reached for the pen and scribbled something down and passed it back: _**This morning.**_

Jess smiled: _**Welcome to the club.**_

_**I hear only the cool kids get in.**_

Luke and Lorelai had dropped gazes and Lorelai was digging into her food happily, completely oblivious to what was going on with anyone else. Jess continued writing: _**That's why its just you and me.**_

_**What happens when word gets around town?**_

_**The loop opens for outsiders.**_

_**We must build a fort.**_

Jess snorted and Lorelai's eyes snapped to him. She looked down at the napkin clenched in his hands and then looked at Rory, who was also giggling lightly. "Hey," she pouted, "No passing notes!" She reached for it, but Jess held it behind his back and gave her a smug smirk. Lorelai pulled back and wrinkled her nose at him, crossing her arms, "Fine. I was going to share my extra pancakes with you guys, but nevermind that now. You guys are mean!" Her eyes were focused on Jess, allowing Rory to easily slip two pancakes off of Lorelai's plate and onto her own. She gave Jess a little nod and a thumbs up. He started laughing and eating his own omelet, unable to wipe the smile off of his face. When Lorelai turned back to her food, the two teenagers put their plates behind her back. Jess transferred a pancake from Rory's plate to his own and she took some of his omelet, causing him to scowl at her. She gave him her 'I'm so innocent' look and he softened, pulling back. They continued to eat in silence until Luke came back to the counter.

"You're all quiet," he observed.

Lorelai dropped her fork and pointed an index finger to each teenager, "They were passing notes!"

Luke blinked, opening his eyes slowly, "Passing...notes?"

Jess handed Luke the napkin and he read it. Then, with a clever grin on his face, he picked up the pen from the counter: _**A mote would probably work, too.**_ He handed it to Rory, who immediately doubled over with laughter, nearly choking on the bite of pancake in her mouth. She handed it to Jess, careful not to let her mother grab it. Jess chuckled and gave Luke an impressed nod. Lorelai threw herself at him, arm's flailing in a desperate attempt to grab the napkin. While she busied herself with that, Luke turned to Rory.

"So...?"

Rory leaned forward and whispered, "Yeah, and the word 'thrilled' was tossed about."

He let out a sigh of relief and smiled at her, turning to return to the kitchen.

"Ha!" Lorelai pulled back, clutching the bottom half of the napkin in her hand. She uncrumpled it and raised her eyebrows, "'Mole woolo plooaoly wolk, loo?'"

"Ye-eah," Rory nodded slowly, "Its, um...Swahili. Mole woolo plooaoly wolk, loo, Mom!"

Lorelai smiled, "Don't you Swahili sweet-talk me."

Jess chimed, "Mole woolo plooaoly wolk, loo, Lorelai."

"Wow, something about _that_ feels dirty."

Jess rolled his eyes and went behind the counter. He refilled all of their coffee cups and looked at Rory, "I have to go over to Doose's; want to tag along?" She shrugged and nodded, and they both boxed up their food and said goodbye to Lorelai before leaving. Luke came back from the kitchen and looked at the two new empty seats.

Lorelai smiled and leaned forward, "They went to Doose's market. She looked around to make sure no one was listening and said, in a quiet voice, "Can I talk to you, upstairs, real quick?" He nodded and they went up to his apartment.

Once the door shut, Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's neck and pulled him in for a soft kiss. He reciprocated immediately, feeding his arms around her waist and kissing her back with a gentle fierceness that made her feel secure and endangered at the same time. When they pulled back, she smiled shyly at him and said quietly, "Good morning, Luke." He kissed her again, soft and quick, "Good morning, Lorelai." She sighed happily and leaned against him, her cheek against his collarbone. Feeling him breathing, the gentle inhale and exhale, chest rising and falling against her, combined with the strong arms surrounding her, made Lorelai feel suddenly more safe than she'd ever felt, and she was almost afraid to pull away. Luke kissed the top of her head, smiling against her messy hair. He ran his arms up and down her sides, causing a tingling sensation to shoot through her entire body, summoning up a frenzy passion. She leaned up and pressed her lips against his, arching her back to fit his form perfectly. When she felt his tongue enter her mouth, all coherence fled and she gave a small grunt and returned the action, exploring every contour of his mouth. She heard him sigh and felt the long shiver that shot through his body. They were on the same plane now, both lost and unaware of the world around them. A faint whisper of reason echoed in Luke's mind, informing him that if they didn't stop soon, they wouldn't be able to stop at all. And while this didn't seem to be an entirely unpleasent option, the same nagging reason told him that the timing wasn't right; this should be something really special. As all of this ran through his mind, all that was going through Lorelai's was: _can't breathe_,_ can't breathe_,_ can't breathe_. Simultaneously, they pulled apart, both gasping for air. Luke's eyes were wide and he opened his mouth several times to speak, only to close it again. He walked backwards a few feet, attempting to put distance between the two of them, as to smother the fire building in them.

"Ooh," Lorelai drawled, once she had most of her breath back, "Luke Danes, you are doing all sorts of nerve damage," she looked up, face red and flushed, and gave him a teasing smile.

"You're not exactly unstimulating, yourself."

She laughed and bit her lip, trying to control herself and hold back the pressing desire to run and tackle him to the bed. She pointed her thumb toward the door, "Um, we should probably--I mean, you've gotta work and...Oh, jesus, just go downstairs before I drive myself crazy!"

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_I don't have time to write a LOT right now, so this one will have chapters. Enjoy, and please leave feedback!_


	2. Def Leppard & Rocky Road

**Disclaimer: **_**"Gilmore Girls" own I not, young Jedi. Speech backward annoying from Star Wars years of watching, shamefully own and butcher do I.**_

**--**

"Ew! Not cool," Rory threw her hands in front of her face to shield any further attacks from her mother, who'd just shot a greenbean into her hair. She began combing through her hair with her fingers, trying to find the vegetable. Jess rolled his eyes and leaned forward, untangling it from a strand by her ear. He showed it to her and dumped it in one of the empty food containers on the coffee table. He leaned back against the couch and shook his head at Lorelai, who sat next to him.

"What?" She said innocently, "Its _your_ uncle's fault. Why would he send us anything green? I mean, does he _know_ us?"

Rory craned her neck around to look up at them from the floor, "Speaking of which, when is he getting here?"

Jess checked his watch, "Twenty minutes or so." Rory nodded and began shoveling food into her mouth at an alarming pace. Jess gave her his pattented crooked stare, "What are you doing?" She swallowed her bite and widened her eyes at him, semi-descretely jerking her head in her mother's direction. Jess's thought for a moment and then nodded knowingly, following suit and tossing his meal down his throat. Lorelai didn't seem to notice, too caught up in the episode of "Behind the Music" that was on the television.

"From when I was a teenager until I was about twenty-two, I wanted to marry Joe Elliot and make him sing 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' every night," she informed them.

"I didn't need to know that," Rory whined around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

Lorelai began jerking back and forth on the couch, dancing to the beat of the song and singing loudly, "_I'm hot--sticky sweet--from my head to my feet_."

Smoothly, Jess slid from the couch to the floor, next to Rory, whispering, "Your mother scares me."

"Well, she wouldn't be Lorelai if she didn't." They finished their food within minutes and both stood at the same time. "Mom," Rory started, trying to fabricate the story in her head, "I... need some stuff for school, so I'm gonna go pick it up before the store closes. Jess is going to tag along, and we might stop for ice cream or something on the way home, so we'll be gone for a while."

"'Kay," Lorelai muttered around her burger, "Pick me up some rocky road." They exchanged goodbyes and the two teenagers left. Soon after, there was a knock on the door and it opened after Lorelai yelled a quick, "come in." Luke wandered into the living room with a styrofoam cup in his hand and sat down next to her, handing her the cup. She wrapped her slender fingers around it and took a curious gulp, then smiled and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "You're too good to me."

"I try." He leaned forward and looked through the empty containers. Some were from his diner, some were from Teriyaki Joe's, and some were empty Chinese cartons from Al's Pancake World. He found the one filled with green beans and picked it up, holding it just inches from Lorelai's face. "What is this?"

She bit back a laugh and smiled innocently, "We were saving them for you?"

"Nice try, but no dice." He put it back on the table and leaned back against the couch, looking around slightly, "So where'd Jess and Rory get to?"

Lorelai put her container on the table and took another deep drink of her coffee, "Um, school stuff and ice cream." She put the cup on the table and sighed happily, leaning against Luke's chest, her head resting just below his chin. He absently ran his fingers through her hair as they watched the rest of the documentary. The credits rolled at ten and the background music was "Pour Some Sugar On Me." At this, Lorelai began giggling lightly. She turned placed her hand on Luke's chest and began making small circles there, soon accompanied by light kisses against his throat. He tipped his chin down and caught her lips with his own, loving the feeling of her touching him, after being so long without her. All at once, his mind filled to the brim with what life had been like before he knew he could be with her like this; he felt all the times he looked at her and knew that he had to be with her, but couldn't. He remembered how he felt as he watched her suffer through relationships that ended badly, knowing that if he only had a chance, he could treat her so much better than that. He remembered countless nights when he'd jack-knifed out of a restless sleep and wished as hard as humanly possible that he would turn and she would be lying there, her dark hair splayed across his pillow, her beautiful eyelashes fluttering against her cheekbones. And more than anything, he remembered praying, day-in and day-out, that he could kiss her. And even if everything went to hell after that, at least he'd know what it was like.

All of these thoughts spilled from his mind and he found himself holding Lorelai to his chest tightly, kissing her with a passion that made him feel so alive that it scared him. He felt, more than heard, the soft moan that escaped from her lips into his, and wondered if he was coming on too strong, or if this felt as good to her as it did to him. Reluctantly, he pulled back and licked his lips. "Lorelai," his voice was low and breathless, almost urgent.

"Hm?" Her eyes were closed, her forhead against his and her hand holding his neck, gently twirling his hair between her fingers.

"Too much?" Lorelai's eyes shot open and looked into his. Blue met blue and they stayed locked for a long beat, both vulnerable and full of emotions they could never say.

Finally, Lorelai smiled shyly, "Not enough, but now isn't really--"

"The right time," he finished, nodding, still staring deeply into her eyes. "God, Lorelai," he sighed, smiling. He gave her a quick, light kiss and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and ran his hand down her cheek, "You're too beautiful."

She blushed deeply, ducking her head. She pulled away slightly and returned to her previous position, with her head just under his chin. He kissed her head lightly and they started watching the next show on the music channel. Almost half an hour later, the door opened slowly and Rory and Jess made their cautious entrance into the living room. They took sight of Luke and Lorelai, cuddled closely on the couch, watching some music-based reality program. Rory turned to Jess and gave him a "what?" look and he shrugged.

"Apparently, only our minds work like that." Jess rolled his eyes immediately, realizing he'd implied something he shouldn't have. Rory giggled and gave him a playful nudge with her elbow. Luke turned then, only slightly so as not to disturb Lorelai, who had begun to doze off.

"Hey," he said to them, "Where ya been?"

Jess shrugged, "Stationary store, bookstore--"

"Ice cream," Rory held up a paper bag descriptively. "Very eventful night. What're you watching?"

"'America's Most Tone-deaf,'" Lorelai mumbled against Luke's chest. She pulled away and sat up, yawning and looking at her daughter. "Rocky road?" When Rory nodded, Lorelai launched herself off of the couch and grabbed the bag, smiling and hugging it to her chest, like a child with a new teddybear. "Ooh, rocky road, I love you so! You are all I need."

Luke scoffed, standing, "I'll remember that next time you come in, begging for coffee." He gave her a sweet smile so that she would know he was only teasing. Then he cocked his head at Jess, "So, you ready to get back? You've got school tomorrow."

"Damn, I hoped you'd forgotten. Lorelai," he pointed a finger at her, "You really let me down."

She shrugged apologetically, "Maybe next time, amigo."

Luke gave Jess a small shove and pointed to the door, "Why don't you go wait in the car?"

Jess rolled his eyes and turned to Rory, "Okay, so you have first dibs on the Irving, but don't take too long."

"I won't," she promised, then returned the small smile he gave her before he turned and walked out the front door. She stood there for a moment, the smile lingering, before she looked at her mother and shrugged. "I guess I'd better turn in. Big test in the morning."

"Did you study?"

"Did you take a sharp blow to the head?"

"Sorry, stupid question. Okay, off to bed with ya!" Lorelai waved her off. When Rory was for-sure in her room, with the shut tightly, Lorelai turned back to Luke and gave him a cute grin, "Hey, there."

He grinned wordlessly and put one hand on her hip, then leaned forward to brush a whispering kiss against her lips. When he pulled back, he almost laughed at the fact that her eyes were closed and her brow furrowed, expecting more. He brushed his thumb against her side, a clever twinkle in his eyes, "I gotta take Jess home."

She opened her eyes and frowned, "Tease."

He smiled and took his hand away, "Got it from spending so much time with you, Lorelai Gilmore." He gave her a small wink and headed for the door. Once outside and a safe distance from Lorelai, he let out a breath and adjusted his baseball cap, admiring his self-control. He slid into the driver's side of the truck and looked at Jess, who was staring out the windshield, at a lighted window that led to Rory's bedroom.

Attempting small-talk, Luke started the engine and said, "So, what book are you two sharing custody on?"

Jess didn't look at him. He only mumbled shortly, "A Prayer for Owen Meany."

Luke had just put the truck in gear, but put it back in park, "Jess, you have that book at home. You were reading it last _week_."

Jess looked out the passenger window and muttered, "Can we just go home?"

Luke shrugged and put the truck in drive. Halfway back to the diner, realization caught up with him and he felt somewhat stupid. He spared his nephew a sympathetic glance and sighed. He knew how it felt to want after someone, and to do anything just to be close to them, even if it wasn't the way you wanted.

When they were home, and Jess was sound asleep, snoring lightly into his pillow, a Pavement song humming from his stereo, Luke picked up the phone and went to sit on his own bed. He dialed Lorelai's number from memory and smiled when she answered, her voice thick with sleep.

"I hate you," she groaned.

"You don't even know who this is."

"Doesn't matter. I hate you."

"Could've been Rory."

"I birthed her; I'm allowed to have my moments of disdain." She was quiet a moment before Luke heard her quickly shifting to sit up in bed, "Luke?"

He laughed quietly, "Someone call Guiness; I think that was the slowest realization known to man."

"Oh, you're funny," she grumbled. Then, with a yawn, "So, is everything all right?"

"Yep."

"Any particular reason you called?"

Luke was silent for a long moment. Why had he called? He didn't have much to say; he didn't even really think before dialing her. He'd just had her on his mind as he thought about Jess's situation, and all the longing he'd once felt, that he was sure his nephew was suffering now. He leaned against his headboard, "I just... I wanted to hear your voice," he admitted nervously. He could almost hear her smile.

**--**

_Okay, I know this chapter is shorter. I'm sorry! Don't kill me!_


	3. Heya, Mister Italiano

**Disclaimer:**_** I don't own "Gilmore Girls." And it only took me six lawsuits, two shrinks, and one year in a mental institution to figure that out.**_

**--**

"Rory!" Lorelai called in a whisper to her sleeping daughter. When she got no reply, she spoke louder, "Rory!" Still no answer. Lorelai walked over to her daughter's bed and put her lips next to her ear, "R_ory_!" Rory's head popped up, her eyes half opened.

"Whassat-huh?"

"Oh, hey, you're awake," Lorelai sat on the edge of the bed and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, rolling her onto her back so they could look at each other. "That's convenient, because I _really_ need to talk to you."

Rory frowned and grumbled, "About what?"

"'Bout somethin'," Lorelai smiled.

"Goodnight." Rory pulled her comforter over her head.

Lorelai pulled it back and sighed, "No, wait, I'm serious, I'm _se_rious!" Rory looked into her mother's eyes, seeing the panic that fell just behind them. She sat up with a defeated "humph" and blinked rapidly, showing she was ready to listen. Lorelai pressed her lips together and grinned nervously, "Okay, so, um, I'm confused."

Rory yawned widely. "About what?"

Lorelai jumped up and began pacing the expanse of the room, "I don't know why I feel the way I feel. I mean, should I feel _this_ way? Something isn't right about it." She put her hand up to her face and began chewing on her thumbnail. "I don't get it."

"M_om_," Rory called from her bed, "What are you talking about?"

"Luke!" Lorelai said loudly, as if it should be obvious.

"I don't get it; what happened?"

"He called," she said, stopping her pace, "He called right after I fell asleep and woke me up and we talked for, like, an _hour_. We just got off the phone, and now I'm all mixed up and confused and I don't know why I _feel_ the way I _feel_." She threw her hands up helplessly and collapsed back on the bed.

Rory leaned forward and put her hand on her mother's shoulder. "How _do_ you feel?" She asked gently.

Lorelai turned to meet her eye, "Comfortable."

Rory's hand dropped and she gave her mother a look that mixed confused and irritated, "Excuse me?"

"Yeah," Lorelai laughed humourlessly, "I mean, we've only had this thing--whatever it is--going on for a few days, but I feel completely comfortable cuddling with him on the couch, just sitting and watching t.v. And I've got no problem talking to him for an hour on the phone. There's no hesitation in any of it, and there's _always_ hesitation, so I'm completely freaking out right now, kid!"

"Oh, my god," Rory grumbled, pulling her covers back up to her chin. "Mom, do you really need my help for this? You and Luke have been friends for years; he's seen you in every possible mood. Angry, hurt, upset, crazy, jealous, heartbroken. And you're the only person Luke's ever _really_ opened up to, so its only natural that things would be like that once you got together. Plus, you're perfect for each other; you just fit." Rory pulled the down-comforter over her head and rolled onto her side, immediately beginning to doze off.

Lorelai sat there for a while, listening to her daughter's steady breathing, lost in thought. Finally, a small smile began to snake its way across her face and she patted her Rory's leg excitedly, "_Omigod_, you're totally right!"

"Good, go to bed." Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her and stood, making her way back upstairs, smiling all the way. She _was_ comfortable with Luke, and she was right in that. Next to Rory and Sookie, Luke was her best friend in the world, and she knew she could trust him completely.

The next morning, after Rory was on her bus to school, Lorelai walked to the diner, but instead of going in, she stood outside, thinking. Finally, she pulled out her cell phone and punched in the number.

"Luke's."

"Oh, really?" She feigned disappointment, "I thought this was the escort service."

She peeked through the window and saw him behind the counter, grinning, "Well, we're running a special on both." He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe that led to the kitchen, "So, where are you? You coming in for breakfast?"

"I'm outside." He looked up and spotted her. She waved and he gave her a confused stare.

"What're you doing out there? You all right?"

"I'm fine."

"So, come in here."

"How 'bout you come out here?" She gave him a sweet smile and saw his eyes light up from across the building. He shook his head at her and hung up the phone; a moment later, he was coming through the door.

He walked over to her and put his hands on his hips, cocking his head slightly to the side, "What's going on?" He noticed when her body suddenly tensed, and nervousness overtook her. He put one hand on her upperarm and his voice softened, "You okay?"

She put the her opposite hand on his chest and looked at him seriously, "Um, Luke... I have sort of a favour to ask."

"Name it," he said without hesitation, without moving an inch.

"I think," she began nervously twirling the button of his breast-pocket between her fingers, "We should make this official."

"Make what official?"

"_This_," she said, her eyes never moving from his. "This thing between... us. I think it should be a real, official... thing.

He gave a small smile, "I have no idea what you mean, but I think its a great idea."

She copied his smile, "I mean, I could call you my--you know--my... boyfriend. We could go on actual dates and be together in public. In front of the town." When he didn't say anything, she continued nervously, "We don't have to, I mean, if you don't want to. I was just thinking about it today and I thought it might be kind of a cool idea, but I'm good either way, you know. No pressu--" She was stopped by his lips against hers. Right there, where anyone in town could see, Luke pulled her to him and kissed her gently, never breaking the boundary of her lips, but still managing to elecit a deep shiver within her. He put his arms around her waist and applied a gentle pressure to her lower back, causing her to arch into his form; they fit perfectly.

A moment later, Luke pulled back, which caused Lorelai to audibly whimper at the loss of contact. She opened her eyes and looked him in the face, a small smile forming there. She bit her bottom lip, "So, you think its a good idea?"

"A _great_ idea," he said, his voice almost a whisper. He let his forehead rest against hers and took her hands in his, lacing their fingers together, "I'm actually really relieved you want this to be official. I was sort of afraid it would be--"

"A one-time thing?" He nodded and she frowned, "Luke, I told you at the beginning that I didn't want that any more than you did."

"I know," he pulled away from her completely. He took a few steps backward and put his hands on his hips, his head down, staring at his shoes. "I just got so used to not having you, and it all seemed a little too good to be true. But," he stepped forward again and kissed her lightly, "It is true, huh?"

"Hm," she laughed lightly, "Definitely true." She copied his light kiss.

"Lorelai, honey!" Lorelai's head snapped to the side just in time to see Miss Patty running across the street, waving her arms madly, a huge smile plastered across her face. By the looks of things, there was about to be a heavy inquiry as to why Luke and Lorelai were standing on a sidewalk, midmorning, smiling and kissing comfortably.

Lorelai groaned, "Uh-oh. You'd better make a run for it."

He laughed and kissed her again, whispering against her lips, "I'll stay. Its part of being 'official.'"

She smiled and put one hand on his cheek, rubbing it over the rough stubble there, "You're a brave, brave man."

Twenty minutes later, they both reentered the diner. Luke had a frightened look on his face, and Lorelai was opening and shutting her mouth, trying to think of something to say. Finally, she collapsed into one of the stools at the counter and shook her head, "Wow."

Luke fell onto the stool next to her, "And then some." He rubbed his face with his hand and then blinked heavily at Lorelai, "That was terrifying."

"It was like the good-cop/bad-cop interrogation that would never end," Lorelai agreed.

He nodded, "Bringing up Rachel."

"Bringing up Max."

"The possibly conflicting ramifications concerning Rory and Jess."

"What our kids would look like."

"Consenquences of dating a customer."

"Something about a girl named Fay and a guy named Art."

Luke looked up, meeting her eyes evenly. He took in a deep breath, "Any second thoughts?"

She held his gaze, then smiled, "None what-so-ever."

He let out a sigh of relief and leaned forward, pecking her lightly on the lips. "Good. That's really, _really_ good. Um," he gestured around, "I gotta--"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," she nodded, standing, "I was actually supposed to be at the end about fifteen minutes ago. But, I'll see you..." her voice trailed off, wordlessly asking him when they'd get to see one another again.

"Tonight?" He suggested, "I know this place in Litchfield that we could go to. Nice little Italian place. You like Italian."

"I love Italian," she said with a wide smile that she couldn't surpress; he was too sweet. "So, you'd get all dressed up just to take me out?"

He took one of his hands between both of his, playing with it gently, running his fingers over her soft palm. He looked up in her eyes, seeing the desire that sparked within them. "What do you think?" He asked in a quiet, deep voice that made it clear that the same desire was pulsing through him.

"I think," she said absently, taking in a deep breath, trying to will away the pressing urge to jump him right then and there, "I'll see you tonight."

He stood slowly, his body just a few inches from hers, "Seven?"

"Seven," she confirmed. "Well... I'd better go." She slung her purse over her shoulder and gave him one last look of longing before she made her way to the door and rushed to the inn, dying to spill everything to Sookie.

**--**

_Okay, I know my chapters are getting shorter, and I'm so sorry! I just don't have a lot of focus right now! But keep reading and reviewing, please! I love you all!_


	4. No Perdono! Più Calamari! Ora!

**Disclaimer: **_**Non possiedo "Gilmore Girls," capire?!**_

**--**

Lorelai ran through the lobby of the Independence Inn, past a grumpy Michel, complaining that she was late. She ran to the kitchen and pushed open the door forcefully, hitting one of the kitchen hands that was unlucky enough to be passing in front of it at the time. She knocked him to the floor and stood in the doorway, wild-eyed and smiling widely. "Sookie!"

Sookie looked up from the pan she was cooking over. Her hands flew to her mouth, "Matt!"

"Lorelai!" Lorelai yelled, pointing to herself.

"Matt!" Sookie pointed to the kitchen hand who lay sprawled out on the floor.

Lorelai looked down and jumped slightly, putting her hand over her heart, "Oh, my god, Matt, I'm _so_ sorry." She helped him to his feet, patting him on the back apologetically. When he turned and went back to his work, Lorelai regained her previous composure and ran to her best friend, "Sook, you're never going to believe what's happened!" She threw both of her arms out excitedly, smacking a bowl of sauce out of another kitchen hands' arms and onto his shirt.

Sookie handed a towel to the worker, "You took a vow to kill off all my kitchen staff?" Sookie guessed.

"No," Lorelai said, not picking up on Sookie's hint. "I'm dating Luke!"

Sookie stared at her for a moment, letting the words sink in. Then her eyes went wide and she flung her own arms out with a loud squeal of excitement, hitting one of her workers in the jaw in the process. When she realized this, she cringed and put her hand up to her mouth, "Oh, jeez, I guess I was half-right." Turning her attention back to Lorelai, she squealed again, louder, "Oh, my _god_! You're dating Luke? You're dating _Luke_! When did that happen? How did that happen? What all _has_ happened?" She raised her eyebrows and wiggled them.

"It started on Friday," Lorelai was still smiling, leaning over the counter to tell the story. "We'd come back from his uncle's funeral, and all these people were in the diner for a sort of wake. And he got all upset and went upstairs, so I followed to, you know, console him. Then he kissed me, and I didn't move or anything, so he kissed me again, and I kissed him back," she added the last part a little sheepishly.

Sookie let out a little "eep" and clapped her hands together, "You kissed him back, ooh! Then what happened?"

"Then, he said he wanted to go downstairs, so we went to the door. But before he opened the door, he went on this little rant about how he thought he was like Louie. You know, antisocial, not well-liked, not really a help to anyone. And I told him that _absolutely_ was _not_ true; that if he died, someone would be there. _I_ would be there. And he said, 'I know you will,' and then I got all caught up in my own head, thinking about all the really great things about him, and I kissed him. It was amazing... for a little while."

"What? What happened?" Sookie's eyes were wide, like that of a child getting read her favourite bedtime story.

"He pushed me away," Lorelai frowned. "And I was so hurt. I went home, and I cried. I actually cried, Sook. I've never had that kind of reaction before! The next day, I went to the diner, and I went upstairs, and I kissed him, and then I told him to explain himself--"

"I love your priorities," Sookie put in with a chuckle.

"And he said that he'd freaked out, because he didn't want our first kiss to be because I pitied him, which it totally wasn't, but he couldn't have really known that. Then, he confessed that he'd thought about kissing me, and then we _did_ kiss, then he asked me if I'd ever thought about kissing him. I told him I had, and we kissed again, and, Sookie, you won't believe how amazing that one was."

"Tongue?"

"He walked away with a satisfying coffee aftertaste," Lorelai nodded. "So, that night, he and Jess came over and we watched some movies and stuff, and before he left, there was some serious making-out by the door."

Sookie drew back a bit, "In front of Rory and Jess?"

"Oh, yeah, we sold tickets to the entire school. No, Sookie, of course not in front of Rory and Jess." Lorelai shook her head, "Anyway, on Sunday, I told Rory, because Jess had already figured it out, and I couldn't stand not telling Rory. We went to the diner, and Luke and I went upstairs and..." Her voice trailed off and an ear-to-ear smile crept across her face, and her breathing increased slightly just at the memory.

Her best friend's eyes went wide and she did a little jump, "Omigod, you had sex, didn't you?!"

"What? Sookie, no," Lorelai insisted. "No sex, just... really great kissing. And I do mean, really great; I couldn't have ever imagined. I mean, I always figured he was an intense kisser, because he's an intense guy, but I never expected that kind of intensity. It was like, he was only focused on _me_, and nothing else existed. It was just me, and him, and that was all that mattered, and I could literally feel that when he kissed me." Her eyes fluttered shut and a blink of desire shot through her; she wanted him to be with her right now, kissing her, making her feel that way again. She blinked rapidly and shook her head, trying to push the longing away, "Anyway, as of this morning, we're an official couple, and I wanted you to hear it from me, because Miss Patty saw us kissing in front of the diner and she's probably got it all around town now."

At that moment, the phone on the wall began to ring and Sookie went to pick it up. "Kitchen," she announced in an overly-chipper voice. "Honey, slow dow--Oh, you don't say," she said sarcastically. "Oh, Jackson, of course I already knew! She's my best friend, after all," she looked at Lorelai and gave her a small wink. "Yep, love you, too. Bye." She put the phone back in its cradle and started laughing, "Poor Jackson! He hates it when I hear news before him; such a gossip." Then she ran to her friend and pulled her into a tight hug, "Ooh, this is so great! You guys are so perfect for each other; I've always thought that. I'm so happy for you, sweetie."

Lorelai hugged back, "I'm happy, too," she said sincerely. "I thought it would be weird, you know, dating Luke. But its not. Its so effortless; it all just comes." She looked away for a moment, thinking of what she'd just said, then muttered, "Wow, dirty." Bringing her attention back to Sookie, she pulled away, "And tonight, we have a real, official date. We're going to a fancy Italian place in Litchfield."

Sookie raised her eyebrows, "Little black dress?"

An evil smile crept across Lorelai's face, "Oh yeah."

--

"Rory!" Lorelai yelled from her room, "Can I borrow that necklace that Mia gave you?"

"Which one?" Rory called back from the living room, where she was curled up on the couch, reading her and Jess's Irving novel. "Mia spoiled me with jewelry."

"Um," Lorelai said, distracted by the clasps on her black wedges, "The one with the rose and the leather." There was silence for a moment before Rory appeared in her mother's doorway, holding a necklace in her fist.

"You're lucky I knew which necklace you meant, or else that would have been cause for a 'dirty.'" She gestured for her mother to turn around and then put the necklace around her, tying it in the back. It was a bronze rose, about the size of a quarter, on a strap of black leather, and it matched Lorelai's outfit perfectly. She took a step back to look at herself in her mirror. She was wearing a black quarter-sleeve dress that fell about two inches above her knees and had golden daisies embroidered on it. Her hair was down and curled, framing her face beautifully. She'd gone subtle on her makeup, opting for a skin-toned eyeshadow and a light pink lipgloss. She turned around and exhaled deeply, staring at her daughter.

"Am I presentable?"

Rory nodded approvingly, "I think he just might buy it."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and decided to let that little quip go and changed the subject, "So, what are you up to, tonight? Dean?"

Rory shook her head, "He has to work. Paris is coming over to work on something for the Franklin, but that won't take long. After that, I figured that she and I would grab Lane and Jess and we'd all go for pizza."

"Jess? Really?" Lorelai raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah," Rory said slowly. "What's the problem? I thought you and Jess were getting along?"

"We are," her mother insisted, nodding, "I just never saw Jess as being one of those, 'hey, you wanna grab a slice with me and the girls?' 'yeah, sure,' kind of guy."

Rory shrugged, "He can be really surprising sometimes. I never know what to expect from him."

Lorelai opened her mouth to reply, but promptly closed it when she heard a knock on the door. She gave her daughter a look of terror, "He's here!"

She nodded knowingly, "Okay, brown coat, green purse, and have fun!"

Lorelai nodded and ran down the stairs, almost tripping over her own feet. She opened the door and found Luke standing there, framed perfectly in the glow of the porchlight. He was wearing black slacks and a dark brown sweater under his black leather jacket. His blue cap was absent and his hair fell against his forehead in a way that made Lorelai want to skip the date completely and just get to the aftermath. She smiled at him and put up one finger to signal him to wait. She grabbed her brown duster from the coatrack and slipped into it, then she grabbed her green purse and started for the door, calling out a goodbye to her daughter before she closed it.

Luke gave her a nervous grin, "So--" He was cut off by Lorelai's lips against his, kissing him with an urgency that neither of them could place. But as soon as it came, it was gone, and she'd pulled back, a slight blush appearing on her cheeks.

"I," she stuttered, "I just... You look good," she finally decided.

He smirked and looked her over, "You look _amazing_." He put one hand on her lower back and led her to his pick-up. A few minutes later, they were on their way to the resteraunt, for their first real date.

--

_Poco Cucina_ was a small establishment, but it didn't feel cramped at all. It was cozy, like sitting in your grandmother's kitchen and waiting for the cookies to be done. That's the only way Lorelai could think to describe it, even though she'd never known that feeling. When she mentioned this to Luke, he smiled at her and agreed, then informed her that "poco cucina" actually meant, "little kitchen." This information seemed to please her, and she put one of her hands over his, running her fingers over the smooth skin between his knuckles. His eyes sought hers when she did this, so that she could see the full effect she was having on him. At this, she grinned bashfully and looked down at the table.

After the waiter brought them two glasses of white wine and their menus, Lorelai began to peruse it, asking Luke about almost every item.

"_Pasta del gambero_?"

"Shrimp pasta," he told her.

"They make pasta out of shrimp?!" She joked, pretending to be appalled.

He rolled his eyes, "The shrimp is in the sauce."

"_Capra stufato_?"

"Eesh," he cringed and shook his head, "Never. Don't _ever_ order it."

"What is it?"

"Goat stew."

She shrugged, "What's so bad about that? I mean, people eat rabbit and deer and--"

He put his hands up to stop her, "Its not so much as what _kind_ of animal they use as it is what _parts_."

Lorelai gave him a horrified look and closed her menu quickly, "Okay, _pasta del gambero_ it is."

Luke chuckled and gestured to the waiter, who came to the booth quickly, "You're ready, sì?"

"Mm," Luke nodded. "_Fruta mare ensalata_," he pointed to himself, "And _pasta del gambero_," he pointed to Lorelai. The waiter nodded and took their order back to the kitchen. When he was gone, Luke looked to his right and found Lorelai grinning at him. "What?"

"Say that 'fruta' thing again."

"_Fruta mare ensalata_?"

She closed her eyes and gave a small laugh, "That could be the most disgusting thing in the world, and I'd eat it, just because you say it so good."

Luke chuckled, slightly embarassed. They made conversation while they waited for their food, talking about the diner, the inn, Rory's schooling, and, for a larger amount of time, all the ways Taylor Doose made them feel homocidal. When their meals came, they were both laughing about the prank that had pulled a few months earlier, involving an outline of a body in front of Doose's market. But when the food was in front of them, the conversation died down a little.

"Huh," Lorelai said with an impressed look on her face, "Pretty good. Much better than anything Italian in Stars Hollow."

"Anything Italian in Stars Hollow," Luke pointed out, "Is made by Al, and nothing from Al's is good."

Lorelai faked a gasp, "Bite your tongue! Al's Pancake World is a staple at the Gilmore residence." Then, changing the subject unexpectadly, she said, "Hey, what are you eating, exactly?"

"_Fruta mare ensalata_," he said obviously, taking a bite.

"Yeah, but what is it?"

He began pointing at things on his plate with his fork, "Scallops, shrimp, calamari, on a salad."

"Hm," she said thoughtfully, "Shrimp, I have. Scallops, I hate. I got food poisoning from them once, when I was fifteen," she explained, "Never could eat them again. But I've never tried calamari. Do you mind?" They were already fairly close together in their booth, but Lorelai slid closer so that her left thigh was pressed against his right, and she looked at him hopefully, opening her mouth a little.

Luke swallowed, trying to squash the sudden desire that shot through him like lightening. He stabbed a piece of calamari with his fork and carefully guided it to Lorelai's mouth. She closed her lips over the fork and pulled back, chewing.

"Mm," she moaned as she swallowed, her eyes closing, "That's really _good_."

Luke's hands had begun to shake slightly, but not noticably. She was driving him crazy, sitting so close, touching him so innocently, making those noises. Unable to keep his hands to himself any longer, Luke let his right hand slip under the table and rest on her left knee, running his thumb over it. He looked up to see if this was okay with her, and found her staring at him intently, a passion behind her eyes so strong that he stopped breathing for a moment. Keeping his eyes on hers, he slid his hand up until it reaching the hem of her dress. From there, he began running his hand back and forth along her inner thigh, never going past the cloth boundary that her dress presented, but still managing to make her body tremble at the contact. She bit her lip and her eyelids slipped down lazily, her lashes thick, fluttering against her cheekbones. She brought one hand up to the back of his neck, playing with the soft hair that fell there, and used the other to stop his hand on her thigh.

"Luke," she whispered in a husky voice that sent chills through him, "If you keep that up, I swear to god, I'm not going to make it out of here with my sanity intact."

He blinked heavily and then smirked, satisfied that he could make her feel that way. "Taste of your own medicine," he told her in a low voice, almost unrecognizable.

The hand that was at the back of his neck found its way to his face, her index finger tracing the line of his jaw, "My own medicine, huh?" He nodded. "I have a feeling you're going to have me overdosing on it by the end of the night," she promised, brushing her thumb against his bottom lip.

"Ahem." They both looked up and saw a rather red-faced waiter smiling apologetically at them, "_Perdono_," he said shyly, "More wine, sì?"

**--**

_Damn Italian waiter! Whelp, guess you'll just have to stay tuned to see how the rest of the date goes, huh? Also, the next chapter will probably have some stuff in it about Rory, Paris, Lane, and Jess, and their night out, as well. So, as the story goes... all this & stay tuned, kids!_


	5. Who Knew Pizza Led To Morrissey?

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own "Gilmore Girls," I do not own a BMW, and there is no pizza in my hair.**_

**--**

**Meanwhile...**

"I'm just saying," Rory said, exasperated, "I think it would look better with the photo of the new building over _here_," she moved the photo to the top right-hand corner, "And the late Mr. Christiansan over _here_," she moved the photo of the older man to the bottom left-hand corner of the photo of the building. "And, for the last time, its got nothing to do with level of importance; it just looks better."

Paris looked at the layout and rolled her eyes, "Fine, we'll go with it. But if there are any complaints," she added in a warning voice, "You're taking the fall."

"Completely," Rory agreed. She lifted her arm to look at her watch; it was a little after 7:30. "Hey, Paris, are you hungry?"

She shrugged, "I could eat."

"I'm gonna meet two of my friends for pizza; you're totally welcome to come," Rory said sincerely. "Actually, you've met both of them. Lane and Jess? You met Lane at Madeline's party last year, and Jess--"

"The Kerouac fan."

"Yep, that's him. So, you wanna come?"

Paris thought for a moment, "Well, I guess I could. I mean, they both seemed somewhat intelligent. So, sure, why not?"

Rory smiled, "Cool, let me give them a call and we'll get going." She stood and walked to wear the cordless phone lay on the hall table, not in the charger, but right next to it. She rolled her eyes and clicked it on, first dialing Lane's number. After they agreed to meet at Pete's, she called Jess and he told her that she'd have to come by the diner because Luke had come to asking Caesar when Jess left, where he went, who he was with. Rory giggled at this, "Okay, so, basically, you need me to establish your alibi?" When he confirmed, she agreed and hung up, turning to Paris. "All right, we're meeting them at Pete's."

"Pete's," Paris repeated incredulously, "Should I get vaccinated first?"

"Wouldn't hurt," Rory said in mock-seriousness, leading them both to the door. Outside, Paris started walking toward her car, but Rory stopped her, "Its only a few blocks away. Don't waste your gas. Plus, if the good people of Stars Hollow see a silver BMW parked in front of Pete's, they might think we're being invaded by a metropolis." Paris opened her mouth to argue, but Rory was already halfway down the driveway, so she quickly shut her mouth and hurried after. Within a few minutes, they were walking through the door of Luke's. Jess looked up from the counter, where he'd been reading a magazine, and frowned.

"Took you long enough," he grumbled.

Rory narrowed her eyes at him and called out, "Caesar, Jess is going to commit unspeakable crimes around Stars Hollow!"

"Oh, no!" Caesar rushed out of the kitchen and punched in the first two digits of 9-1-1.

"Caesar," Jess said quickly, "She's kidding." Caesar looked to her for conformation and she nodded apologetically. He rolled his eyes and slammed the phone down, going back into the kitchen, mumbling something about giving him a heart-attack. Jess sighed and walked over to the two girls, "Hey, Rory. Paris. Shall we?" He gestured to the door and they walked down the street to Pete's, passing in front of the window to Doose's on their way. Dean happened to look up as they did and saw Rory walking and talking to Jess and a blonde girl whose name he couldn't really remember. He was tempted to run outside and demand an explanation, but Taylor had begun talking to him before he got the chance. He let it go, but it wasn't over.

The three met Lane at Pete's, where she'd already ordered a medium cheese and a large with everything. After they'd begun eating, conversation came, and it was much smoother than any of them expected, as Rory was the only glue any of them had. Lane and Jess, while not hateful toward each other, weren't going to be exchanging friendship bracelets anytime soon, and Paris was too single-minded to be anyone's real friend, it seemed. But Rory considered all three of them her friends, and when she was there, everything seemed to be easier. By the time the cheese pizza was gone, even Paris had loosened up considerably.

"I'm serious!" She insisted to Jess, who was laughing more than anyone had ever heard him laugh before. "Stop laughing; I'm not kidding."

"Oh, come on," he said, still laughing, "You can't honestly think that."

"I dunno," Rory shrugged, taking a bite of her supreme pizza, "She could have a point. I mean, it would make sense."

Paris nodded, "Thank you, Rory. All I'm saying is, if 'Willy Wonka' had never come into existance, the world would be much less obese."

Lane took a drink and shook her head, "I don't agree. The book and the movie, both were released all over the world, right? But its America that's truly obese, so 'Willy Wonka' can't have had anything to do with it."

Rory looked at Paris, grinning, "Just the fact that you've actually _seen_ 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory' is enough to floor me."

"Lorelai would love this conversation," Lane said thoughtfully. "Where is she?"

"In Litchfield with Luke."

"Shopping?"

"_Poco Cucina_," Jess informed her. When a confused look blanketed her face, he explained, "Luke and Lorelai are on a date at some fancy Italian place."

Paris turned to Rory, "You're mom is dating the diner guy?"

"Same question," Lane said incredulously, "She and Luke are dating? Why did no one tell me?"

"Technically," Jess interjected, "This is the first real date. But they've been making out for about...three or four days."

"Ew!" Rory squealed, throwing a mushroom at Jess, "Visuals, visuals! That's my _mom_, Jess!"

Jess picked a piece of sausage off of his slice of pizza and threw it back at her, "With my uncle; I don't like the visuals any more than you do."

The sausage hit her in the temple and her eyes narrowed. She pulled a strip of cheese from her pizza and flung it at Jess. It landed sauce-side against his face and slid off slowly, giving the three girls ample time to laugh at him. From there, all hell broke loose. Jess threw a discarded bit of crust at Rory, which bounced off of her and hit Paris, who frowned and threw a handful of parmesan cheese at him. Soon, there was a full-out food-fight taking place in the middle of the pizza parlour, only coming to a close when Pete rushed out of the back and threatened to have the cops come and take them away. They ran to the street, all four equally covered in sauce, toppings, and parmesan. Lane had to run home to take a shower before her mother came home from private Bible study, and Paris also desired to cleaned up, so she left. Then, it was just Jess and Rory.

Rory was quiet for a long beat, just standing next to Jess on the sidewalk. Finally, she turned to him and confessed, "I'm still hungry."

He sighed and jerked his head in the direction of the diner, "If you let me clean up first, I'll make you something." Her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly, following him down the street. Once at the diner, Jess called out to Caesar, informing him they were back, and started upstairs.

"Jess," Rory stopped him. He turned to look at her and she gestured to her messied self, "Extra towel?" He rolled his eyes and waved to her, signaling for her to follow him up the stairs. He unlocked the diner and let her in, closing the door behind them. He wordlessly went to the bathroom and came back, handing her a large towel and a washcloth before going back to the bathroom. She nodded gratefully and went to the kitchen sink, running water over the washcloth and then began scrubbing the dried sauce from her face. After that, she used to towel to pat her shirt dry and began picking through her hair, trying to get all the stray bits of meat and vegetables out before they tangled into her hair to the point that she couldn't get them out.

Jess came out, completely washed, and in a fresh pair of clothes. He looked at Rory with a quirky grin; except for her light blue shirt, which was littered with splotches of pizza sauce, she was mostly clean. He went to his dresser and grabbed a shirt from the bottom drawer and walked over, handing it to her. "Here, I'll throw your shirt in with my clothes right now, so that the stains don't set in."

She took the shirt, "That would be great; this is my favourite shirt." She stared at him for a second, "Um, could you turn around or something?"

"What? Oh, yeah, of course," he turned around. A second later, he heard her shirt hit the floor and tried to resist the overwhelming temptation to turn around and sneak a peek at her bare skin. Just when his resolve was about the crumble, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw a smiling Rory holding out her crumpled blue shirt to him. He took it with a grin, and then took in the sight of her cuddled up in his oversized Morrissey shirt.

"Um," he stuttered, looking down at the shirt in his hands, "I should probably get this in the wash." He turned on his heel and went to his room, gathering his own clothes, and then into a seperate room, which Rory assumed held the washer and dryer. A few minutes later, he reappeared and pointed toward the door, "Still hungry?" She nodded and followed him down the stairs to the diner. Jess quickly made them both burgers and fries and stood across from her at the counter, eating.

"Mm," Rory smiled, "This is the best burger ever. Don't tell Luke that, because he takes pride in his cooking skills, but seriously? Your burgers are better." He smiled and then she asked, "How long does your washer take?"

Jess thought about it, chewing his burger, "Um, since its a small load, the washer will be about fifteen minutes, and the dryer will be about half an hour."

Rory consulted her watch, "The diner closes in fifteen minutes." They were both quiet, thinking, and then, "Can I use the phone?" Jess nodded and picked up the phone, stretching the cord across the counter and handing it to Rory, who promptly punched in her mother's cell phone number. "Mom? Hi, how's it going so far? That's good; that's _really_ good, Mom. So, listen, something whacky happened tonight that I could never explain over the phone because its too hilarious, but long story short, I'm at the diner. I'm going to hang out here for a while and help clean up and everything, and then Jess and I are going to do some booktalk. Hm? Oh, no, everything's fine. It was so funny; I'll tell you all about it later." She tilted her head to the side, "I dunno; it'll be a while. Probably a couple of hours. Mom, you've kept me up far past midnight on school nights before, and I always get up on time. 'Kay, seeya later. Love you, too. Bye." She handed the phone to Jess, who hung it up and then came back to her with a confused look on his face.

"A couple hours?"

She blushed slightly, "I just figured, if I wasn't in the house..." her voice trailed off.

"Ah," he said, catching on. "That's sweet. You'd put up with me for two whole hours just so your mother could get laid."

"Okay, a) again with the visuals; knock it off! And b) its not exactly a sacrifice."

His eyebrows went up, "No?"

She blushed and ducked her head a little, "Well, no. I mean, I like hanging out with you." To this, she quickly added, "Because, you know, we're friends, and we both like books, and music, and cleaning. Well, I don't really like cleaning, and I'm assuming you don't really like cleaning either, but--"

"Rory," Jess laughed, "Calm down." Then he leaned forward, reaching out, and pulled a piece of pepperoni from her hair that she must have missed earlier.

"Okay," she said, letting out a deep breath.

--

Lorelai clicked her cell phone off and looked at Luke, who was staring at her curiously, "Who was that?"

She lifted her fork and finished off the last of the tiramasu, "Rory."

"Is everything okay?"

She nodded and turned to face him fully, a playful grin on her face, "She was just calling to say that she's going to be hanging out with Jess for a couple hours. Book talk, and whatnot."

"Book talk," he repeated slowly.

"Yep."

"With Jess."

"Mhm."

"For a couple of _hours_?"

She leaned in, her voice low and her eyes filled to the brim with desire, "For a couple of hours."

**--**

_I'm so sorry! I did __not__ mean for this whole chapter to be about Jess and Rory! It just sort of happened that way! But, I promise, the next chapter will have lots more L/L goodness. Just keep on readin' and reviewin', and I'll keep on supplyin' the goods!_


	6. Better Than Foo Fighters!

**Disclaimer: **_**I'm too tired to come up with something clever to say, so I'll just lay it out, plain and simple... I don't own "Gilmore Girls." [Insert quip here**_

**--**

"How long," Luke mumbled breathlessly against Lorelai's lips, "Did you say Rory would be gone for?" He had her pressed against the front door, never having made it into the house before passion overtook them. Before she had the chance to answer, his lips had moved to her neck and was making quick work of kissing, licking, and nipping there. It was almost too much for her, and forming sentences was suddenly the hardest thing in the world.

"A-about midnight," Lorelai stuttered, nails digging into the back of his neck, eyes closed. Suddenly, her eyes flew open and she moved both of her hands to his chest, pushing hard. He broke away and took two steps back, a confused look on his face. She bit her lip and grinned cleverly at him. She shoved her hand into her purse and began digging around frantically until she found what she was looking for; keys. She turned and quickly unlocked the door, pushing it open. She turned in the doorway and gave him a smile that made his heart stop. He relinquished all control he had over his actions and reached for her, pulling her hips against his and kissing her deeply.

Lorelai took a few steps back, drawing him into the house, and smiled against his lips when he kicked the door shut, all his attention on her as he pressed her against the wall. His hands, still on her hips, began to slide up slowly, until they were running over her ribcage, just below her breasts. Lorelai broke the kiss and arched into his touch, moaning softly, urging him to consider his exploration. He kissed the space between her jaw and earlobe, smiling as his hand slipped back down to her waist and she whimpered in impatience. Then he felt her hands on his shoulders, pushing him away just enough so that she could look at him.

She was panting, and wore a look of complete urgency, "How can you be so patient?"

He smirked and disentangled himself completely, no longer touching her in any way. He brought one hand up behind her neck and untied the necklace there and put it on the desk by the door, then put his hand back and began masaging the back of her neck slowly, staring right into her eyes. Hers were full of questions, begging him to say something, instead of just standing there. Finally, he told her, "I've been patient for five years; I'm a master of self-control."

Her eyes narrowed playfully, "Yes, I can completely see that, what with the way you were _just _handling yourself and everything."

"I was _completely_ in control the entire time," he lied lightly.

"Oh, is that so?" She opened her mouth for one of her famous quips, but closed it, realizing that the last thing she wanted to be doing with Luke right now was their trademark banter. They weren't "Luke's Diner" Luke-and-Lorelai anymore; they were..."_Poco Cucina_" Luke-and-Lorelai. So she bit back whatever remark she'd had coming and met his gaze, "Luke."

Seeing the seriousness in her look, his smile slowly fade, "What is it?"

"Kiss me," she whispered in an unintentionally pleading voice that sent shockwaves through Luke's system and he pressed himself against her, lips against hers, stubble scratching her chin. The hand that wasn't on her neck began its second journey up her hips, her ribcage, and landed, again, just below her breast. This time, he allowed his thumb to gently trace the underside of it through her soft velvet dress. Lorelai let out a happy sigh and arched against him, her hips rubbing against his, causing him to groan into her mouth. He began kissing his way across her jaw, down her throat, and into the hollow of her shoulder.

"Bedroom," he murmered against her skin, "We should--bedroom."

--

"_So what would you think of me now,_

_So lucky, so strong, so proud?_

_I never said 'thank you' for that,_

_And now I'll never have a chance_."

Rory settled onto the couch in Luke's apartment, "I never would have figured you for a Jimmy Eat World fan," she told Jess. They'd finished cleaning up the diner only a few minutes before and now were upstairs, listening to music, and Jess was popping popcorn and picking a few books from his shelf.

Jess shrugged, tossing a book to her, "A girl I dated a couple years back was really into them, and I guess it sort of stuck."

Rory stopped for a brief second, and then began flipping through the book he'd thrown to her, seemingly unmoved. Casually, she asked, "Was it a serious thing? I mean, for her to have passed on her musical taste to you, something must've been special about her."

He dumped the popcorn from a bag to a bowl and dashed some salt on it. Tucking his book under his arm and grabbing two sodas from the refrigerator, he walked over to the couch. "She was pretty cool, I guess. We were really great friends, but there just wasn't anything there. There were no real feelings, so it didn't last. Here," he handed her one of the sodas and dropped down next to her on the couch, putting the popcorn bowl between them.

"So, you're a 'feelings' guy?"

"As opposed to...?"

Rory popped a kernel into her mouth, "As opposed to a typical teenage male."

"Ah, _that_," he chuckled, then shook his head. "Nah. I mean, I'll admit that I have, in the past, dated a girl just for the prospect of...ya know...but, for the most part, I prefer to actually give a damn about the person I'm with." His eyes met hers for the briefest moment before they both turned away shyly. They opened their books and settled into the couch, silence befalling them.

"_On sleepless roads, the sleepless go,_

_May angels lead you in._"

--

"We are not making very good progress," Lorelai chuckled against Luke's collarbone. After several observations that they should go to her bedroom, they'd only made it so far as the first landing of the staircase. Luke was against the wall, his hands around Lorelai waist as she kissed every piece of exposed flesh and let her fingers explore his broad chest.

A small growl rumbled in his chest and his eyes slipped close when she hit a good nerve on his shoulder, "But this is good, too."

"So just think of how good it'll be once we finally get to the bedroom." She slid her hands under his shirt and ran her fingers over his abs, then up to his pecs, and back down again. He groaned and slid his hands down to her bottom, encouraging her to wrap her legs around his waist. When she complied, her lips still working on his throat and shoulder, he carried her up the stairs carefully. Once they were in her room, he put her back on the ground and pulled her chin up so that he could kiss her. This time, he kissed her softly, and in a way that was almost identicle to their very first kiss. So soft that it almost seemed imagined, but still enough to make her feel goddessly.

"Are you sure," he said, his voice low and husky, choked with desire, "That you want this?" Silently, he prayed as hard as he could for her to be ready, because if there was even the slightest hesitation, he knew that he would stop things where they were, because he wanted her to be in it, 100-percent, but at the same time, his body needed her to say yes.

"I want this," Lorelai confirmed surely, tracing his jaw with her index finger. "I want _you_, Luke."

He let out a breath he'd been holding and twined their fingers together, kissing her with the same gentleness as he'd just had. "Good." She pulled her hands from him and once again trailed them under his sweater, this time pulling the material up until she'd yanked it over his head and thrown it haphazzardly across the room. Next to go was the white t-shirt underneath, and his chest was completely exposed to her eyes, her fingers, her lips. She let her hands rest on his sculpted stomach and began pressing light kisses against his pecs. His hands began to tremble at this action, and the familiar feeling of losing all control washed over him. His hands took on a mind of their own and snaked around her waist and up her back until they found the zipper of her dress and began tugging it down. When the offending garment lay in a heap on the floor at her feet, Luke's hands began to run reverantly up her arms, her sides, her thighs, her stomach; anything he could touch, he did. He kissed across her collarbones and downward until his lips were on the top of her breasts, not covered by her bra.

"Mm, bed," Lorelai moaned. She wrapped her fingers tightly around his biceps and tugged him along, walking backwards until the backs of her knees felt the edge of her mattress. Letting go of him, she sat on the bed, and leaned back, pushing herself to the centre of the mattress. She lay there, clad only in her undergarments, and Luke knew that, without a doubt, this was the most beautiful woman he would ever encounter. He also knew that this was the only woman he would ever care so much for, and ever want to be with as much as he did. All it took was that patented Lorelai Gilmore smile and he was leaning over her body, one knee between her thighs as he kissed her breathless. Then her hands were fumbling clumsily with the button of his dress pants and he knew that there was no going back.

--

"_Run and tell all of the angels;_

_This could take all night._

_Think I need a devil to help me get things right._

_Hook me up a new revolution,_

_Because this one is a lie._

_We sat around laughing and watched the last one die._"

Jess and Rory were sprawled out on opposite ends of the couch, Rory against one arm with the legs at Jess's end, and Jess against the opposite arm with his legs on Rory's end. Rory was struggling to keep her eyes opened, "Can you believe that there are some people in this world that _don't_ like Foo Fighters?"

"Oddities," Jess mumbled, eyes completely closed. One of his hands was on Rory's shin, where it had been for the past few minutes, absently massaging.

Rory's eyes slipped shut, "Hm, that feels nice."

"I'm glad."

Rory smirked, "Jess Mariano. Glad. Not exactly synonyms."

He yawned and opened his eyes slightly, making little slits, "Well, I'm tired. Its hard to be Buzz Gunderson this late at night."

"I don't want you to be Buzz Gunderson," Rory said, too tired to pay attention to her own words.

"But I'm so good at it."

She frowned unconsciously, "But Buzz Gunderson drives off a cliff. I don't want you to drive off a cliff." She draped one arm over his legs, almost completely asleep now, "If you drove off a cliff, you'd be dead, and I'd miss you."

"Yeah?" His eyes were completely open now, eyebrows raised.

Her only response was, "No chicky runs," and then she was asleep. Jess smiled and continued to stroke her leg until he, too, had slipped into dreamland, his stereo still humming gently in the background.

"_Fly along with me; I can't quite make it alone._

_Try and make this life my own._"

--

Luke collapsed above Lorelai, barely enough strength left in him to hold himself up on his elbows. His hair gently brushed against her shoulder as they rode the waves of ecstacy. When Luke had somewhat regained his composure, he lifted his head to plant a sweet kiss on Lorelai's lips, and then moved off to the side, laying next to her. She immediately moved to drape her arm across his chest and rest her head atop his shoulder.

"This was perfect," she told him sincerely.

He smiled, stroking her hair gently, "I can't disagree."

"Mm," the gave a happy moan, "I don't think I've ever felt this..." she gestured with the hand that was on his chest, trying to find the right word, "Content."

"Really?"

"M-_hm_."

They lay there for a few minutes, soaking up the bliss, before Luke sighed and melted back with reality, "Rory and Jess know; they're waiting us out."

Lorelai frowned, realizing what that meant, "Rory's still at the apartment."

"And they've got school tomorrow."

"Ugh," she whined, kissing his chest. "I don't want you to go."

"I don't want _to_ go."

"I want to see you when I wake up in the morning."

"I want to make you breakfast."

"Mm," she licked her lips at the thought, "I want you to make me breakfast!"

"Yeah," he sighed again and pulled himself out of the bed, picking his clothes up from the floor. "I guess you'll just have to come by the diner tomorrow morning. God!" He cursed, "Why did we have to pick a school night?" He chuckled bitterly as he redressed. Finally, he stood before her, fully clothed and almost pouting, "I've gotta go."

Lorelai wrapped the bedsheet around herself and sat up, gesturing him closer. When he came, she put one hand on his chest and kissed him passionately, but without invading his tongue with her own. Reluctantly, she pulled away and frowned sadly, "Well, send my kid home, 'kay?" He nodded, and then he was gone. Lorelai curled up, burying her face in the pillow he'd used, inhaling his scent. Finally, she decided she'd better be up and waiting when her daughter got home, so she quickly pulled on her pajamas and made her way downstairs.

--

"_Its fear I'm embracing;_

_I never could face you down._"

When Luke entered his apartment, one of the first things he saw were the two teenagers passed out on the couch. After the shock of this visual wore off, a little grin tugged at his lips at how peaceful and content they both looked. He was happy that Jess could be close to Rory, because he knew that he cared about her. With a little sigh, he walked over to the couch and put one hand on his nephew's shoulder and gently shook him.

"Hm?" Jess opened one bleary eye, and then the other. "Oh, hey," he yawned, "How'd it go?"

"Good," Luke said passively, then gestured to Rory. "I'm gonna give the diner the once over real quick. Why don't you wake Rory up and walk her home?"

"Rory?" A confused look befell Jess's face. He looked down and saw that he still had a light grip on her left shin, and he blushed slightly, nodding to his uncle. When Luke had gone downstairs, no doubt to avoid an awkwardness between himself and Rory, Jess sat up and began massaging her leg again. "Hey," he whispered gently, in a complete non-Jess way, "Wake up, Gilmore."

Her eyes opened slowly and she smiled up at him, "Hey."

"Hey."

"We fell asleep."

"I know we did."

"What time is it?"

"Late," Jess said without checking. "Come on; I'll walk you home." He stood and helped her up, then led her downstairs where Luke was nowhere to be found. "Hm, he said he was coming down here. Must be hiding in the storage room; such a shy fella'." Rory chuckled and they walked out of the diner and began the trip to her house.

--

Lorelai heard Rory's voice outside before her daughter even made it through the door, and quickly went to the window. Rory was walking with Jess, both of them looking decently tired, but laughing.

"I've never woken up to 'M.I.A.' before. It was actually kind of depressing."

"Well, what are Foo Fighters if not pleasently melancholy?" Jess answered.

Lorelai opened the door as the two teenagers hit the last step on the porch, "Hey, guys!"

"I'm sleepy," was her daughter's unenthusiastic reply. She turned to Jess and offered him a genuine smile, "Thanks for walking me."

"Yeah, Jess," Lorelai echoed the sentiment, "Thanks for getting her home safe."

He nodded to her, "It was my pleasure." Then, to Rory, "No chicky runs?"

She blushed slightly, but nodded, "No chicky runs." Jess smiled and told them both goodbye before walked back down the steps and across the lawn.

Lorelai drew her daughter inside, eyebrows raised, "Is it just me, or do you look like you had as good a night as I did?"

Rory's brow furrowed and she looked her mother over, then chuckled, "The world's greatest _hedonist_ didn't have as good a night as you did. Nice sex hair," she added before making her way to her room. Lorelai gasped at her daughter's forwardness, but then laughed lightly and ran her fingers through her guilty hair in a failed attempt to tame it. Surrendering, she started back toward her room, drunk with the knowledge that Luke's scent lingered there.

--

It wasn't until Rory opened her pajama drawer that she realized she was still wearing Jess's shirt. Blushing to no one in particular, she slid out of her jeans and crawled under her blanket, cuddled in the oversized shirt.

**--**

_Okay, as I wrote this, it was about 0300 to 0500, so if some of it doesn't make sense, I sincerely apologize!_


	7. It Just Might Mean I Want You

**Disclaimer:** _**So, I don't own "Gilmore Girls." I did, at one point...then I woke up.**_

**WARNING****: THIS CHAPTER IS ALL R/J. IF YOU DON'T LIKE JESS, DON'T READ THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU **_**DO**_** LIKE JESS...THEN **_**I**_** LIKE **_**YOU**_

_P.S.: I like big double-dashes now, too!_

**--**

Tuesday morning, Lorelai had an early meeting at the Inn, so Rory was going to have breakfast Luke's alone. Normally, if Lorelai couldn't join her, Rory would just catch an early bus to school, but today, she wanted to be at Luke's. She knew why, but wasn't willing to admit it to herself.

As she was walking to the diner, head tucked in a book, a slight skip in her step at the knowledge that today was only a half-day at Chilton, Rory became vaguely aware of someone's steps falling into place next to her. She looked up and, once the surprise wore off, grinned weakly, "Dean. Hi." She stopped to give him a quick peck on the cheek before resuming her pace.

"Hey," he said, smiling, "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"You saw me yesterday morning," she pointed out.

He nodded, "Yeah, but I didn't see you last night, when I really wanted to. Sorry that I had to work." She shrugged and Dean took a deep breath, remembering who he'd seen her with the night before, and continued casually, "So, um, what did you end up doing?"

She stopped and glanced at him, "When?"

"Last night."

"O-oh," she turned and began walking again, slowly, thinking, "You know, studied, worked on the paper, went for pizza, then went home and crashed." She had no intentions of telling him about getting into a foodfight with Jess, going home with Jess, hanging out with Jess, falling asleep with Jess.

Dean nodded, "Pizza, cool. Who'd you go with? Your mom?"

Rory struggled to get her book into her backpack and keep her pace, "No, she was on a date with Luke last night."

"So who'd you go with?" He pressed.

"Um, Lane, and, uh, Paris..." Rory looked up as they walked through the square. The diner was barely a hundred feet away; surely Dean would drop the subject when they arrived.

"Who else?"

"Huh?"

Dean raised his eyebrows at her, "Who else went with you for pizza?"

Rory chuckled nervously, "What makes you think someone else went with us?"

"Dammit, Rory!" She froze, never having heard Dean speak to her like that before. She turned and met his gaze, trying to make it seem as if she didn't know what was going on. He noticed this look and his jaw tightened, the muscles there twitching. He took a step toward her and dropped his voice to almost a whisper, so as not to alert anyone that may be walking by, "Jess. Jess went with you. I know, because you walked right in front of the market."

Rory's brow furrowed, "Okay, so Jess went with us. What's the big deal?"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She shrugged, "I didn't think it was that big of a deal. I mean, he's my friend. I'm allowed to hang out with my friends, aren't I?"

His face softened slightly, knowing that coming down too hard on her wouldn't work, "Yeah, of course. But Jess--"

"But Jess nothing," Rory interrupted. "He's my friend, and you need to stop freaking out everytime he has something to do with my life."

"I don't want you hanging out with him anymore."

Rory's eyebrows raised so high that they looked as thought they might become one with her hairline, "Ex_cuse_ me? I'm sorry, when did we return to the 1940s? What's next, 'get in the kitchen and make me a sandwhich?'" She shot him a cold stare before turning and walking to the diner, leaving Dean standing by the gazebo with an almost defeated look on his face.

Rory entered Luke's and plopped down on one of the counter's stools, eyes still narrowed, still steaming. Jess, in the kitchen, saw her enter and walked to the counter, grinning slightly, "Its seven in the morning; what have you got to look so happy about?"

She sighed and cradled her chin in one hand, leaning her elbow against the counter, "Just...didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

Jess nodded, "Yeah, same here." He reached for a mug and filled it with coffee for her. She thanked him and began drinking deeply. "Oh, hey," Jess said suddenly, putting up one index finger, "Stay there for a sec. Be right back," and then he disappeared up the stairs.

The bell above the door jingled and Rory looked over as Dean settled onto the stool next to her. He sighed, "Listen, I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to tell you who you can and can't hang out with; its just that Jess _really_ rubs me the wrong way."

Rory echoed his sigh and put one hand over his, "Listen, Jess is my friend. You're going to have to learn to deal with that."

Just then, Jess came back down the steps, clutching Rory's blue shirt in one hand, "Hey, here's your shi--" He stopped cold when he spotted Dean at the counter and tried to smoothly slip the shirt behind his back. He gave his usual sarcastic smile, "Dean-o, top o' the mornin'!"

Dean's eyes went cold and snapped to Rory, "Your _friend_, huh?" With that, he stood so fast that his chair wobbled a bit, and then he was out the door. Rory jumped up and ran after him, catching him before he could cross the street. She grabbed his arm and tried to make him look at her.

"Dean, Dean," she said pleadingly, "Look, I know this looks bad, all right? But I can explain everything. There were food stains and he offered to wash the shirt for me and--Would you just _look_ at me?"

"No," Dean said in a low pitch, his voice shaking slightly, filled with anger, but also with hurt, "No, I _can't_ look at you right now, Rory. I just--I need some time to think about stuff."

Rory's eyes lowered and she spoke slowly, "Okay. That makes sense. Just think, and I have a half day, so I'll be home by one or so, and you can talk to me when you get the chance. Just please, _please_ don't make this more than it is." He nodded and walked away. Rory hung her head and went back to the diner, where Jess was waiting.

"Here," he said softly, handing her the shirt, which she slipped wordlessly into her bag. Jess hesitated before putting one hand on her shoulder, "Are you guys okay? I mean, did I completely screw something up?"

Rory shook her head and looked toward the door, "No, he just needs to cool down. We'll talk later and he'll hear me when I say that nothing happened, and that'll be the end of it. We'll be okay." She turned her eyes back to him and he could see the flicker of doubt there, but she smiled regardless, "Well, my bus... I'm gonna go." Then she was gone, too.

--

3:07. Rory had been home since 1:15, just waiting for Dean to get out of school. While she waited, her mind began to race, wondering what would happen if Dean broke up with her. _You'd be free to date Jess_, a voice in her head told her. That stopped her, and she spent the next few minutes wondering where the hell that came from. Sure, she admitted that she was somewhat attracted to Jess, but she loved Dean. Sure, she and Jess had the same taste in books and music and movies, but who wanted someone _that_ much like them? Dean was always willing to try new books and bands and movies, and always with a smile. _Who wants someone _so_ eager-to-please_? the voice in her head said again, uninvited. Rory shook her head, trying to get the voice out. Then she heard a knock on the door and ran to answer it. Dean stood on the other side, hands stuffed into his jacket pocket, a somber expression on his face.

"Dean--" Rory started.

"Wait," he interrupted, "Just listen. Lane explained the food fight thing to me, and I understand why your shirt needed to be washed, and at lunch, I was possitive that I'd come over here and I'd be okay with everything, and we'd kiss, and everything would be fine." He took a deep breath, not looking at her, "But during my afternoon classes, I got to thinking. Why could you just come home and wash your shirt? Or just wait a while? Why did you have to wash it in Jess's washer? And that just got be thinking about _Jess_. Ever since he moved here--" Dean pressed his lips together tightly, choosing his words, "Ever since he moved here, you've been really distant with me. I know that he's your friend, but I don't think you _just_ want to be his friend, and I _know_ he doesn't _just_ want to be yours," he stressed his words with his tone, and also with his eyebrows. They furrowed on every accented word.

Rory started to deny it, "Dean, that's not--" but she stopped short. She wasn't sure if she wanted to be with Jess the way Dean said she did, but she didn't want to say she didn't and run the risk of lying to him. Instead, she just turned her eyes to him. "Dean," she said simply, her voice slightly pleading.

All the sudden, he became cold, "Its over." He turned and started walking down the steps, and Rory ran after him.

"No, wait, Dean, what? What's over?"

"Us!" He yelled, causing her to take a few steps back. "This relationship--or lackthereof, as its been for the past few months--is over! I don't want to see you anymore, because, quite frankly, this _whole_ thing has made me realize that I deserve so much better."

"Better than what?" Rory's eyes were wide as she desperately tried to understand, "Dean, what are you saying to me?"

"You're.a.bad.girlfriend," he punctuated every word, as if spelling it out for her. "So, go. Go and be with Jess. Two inconsiderate jerks; you're a match made in heaven. You can treat each other like shit, and you know what? I don't care. I'm out." He turned and walked away from her. Rory's bottom lip began to tremble with a mixture of anger, hurt, and uncontainable guilt. She looked to her side and noticed Babette watching the entire exchange from her window. Rory covered her face with her hand as the tears came, and ran back into the house.

--

Babette watched the teenager break for the house. She'd been washing dishes when Dean's loud screams had drawn her attention. She ran into the living room and picked up her phone, "Patty, you'll never guess what just happened!" She filled her best friend in on all the details, and then hung up, only to punch in another number.

"Independence Inn; Michel speaking."

"Michel, suga'," Babette said quickly, "Where's Lorelai?"

Michel sighed, annoyed, "She is busy at the moment."

"Well, go find her and tell her to get her tush home."

"And for what reason am I to tell her that her tush is required at home?"

Babette threw her free hand in the air, "Rory needs her!"

"Rory?" An uncharacteristic tone of concern snuck into Michel's voice, "Is she hurt?"

"Not physically, suga'; don't worry. Just tell Lorelai to get home as soon as she can."

"I will," Michel promised. He hung up and went to find Lorelai. He found her in the kitchen, deep in conversation with Sookie, and he cleared his throat to get her attention. "Excuse me, but Lorelai, Babette called to say you need to get home, because Rory needs you."

Lorelai jumped up quickly, "Is she hurt?"

"I asked this and got, 'not physically,' and then some silly American term-of-endearment."

"Hm," Lorelai looked at Sookie, "I'm gonna go see what's going on; I'll call later." Then, on her way out the kitchen door, she said to Michel, "Thanks, Michel. Can you take over?" When he confirmed, she was gone.

--

It was close to 6:30 and Jess was making the rounds at the diner, refilling coffee and soda, when he overheard Babette talking to Andrew. "Poor thing, she looked so hurt. I can't believe Dean would do that; he's always been just the sweetest kid."

Jess's face contorted in confusion as he went to refill Babette's coffee, "What about Dean?"

Babette looked up at him, "Dean broke up with Rory this afternoon. Screamed at her, practically. Said horrible things."

"Like what?"

"Lotsa stuff. He went on about how she was a bad girlfriend, she treated him badly. Then this guy has the nerve to say he can do better; how do you do better than a sweet thing like Rory?"

Andrew nodded in agreement, "She's the sweetest kid I know."

Jess ignored this, "How was Rory after all this?"

Babette frowned sadly, "Ah, how do you think, hon? She was distraught; ran into the house crying."

With that, Jess spun on his heel and went behind the counter, jerking the phone from its cradle, causing Luke to give him a very confused look, but let it slide. Jess punched in a number he was surprised he knew from heart and quickly began speaking when someone answered. "Lorelai, is she okay?"

Lorelai sighed and spoke quietly, obviously not wanting her daughter to know she was talking about her, "Not really."

"Where is she?"

"On the couch. She hasn't gotten up since I got home. She won't sleep, won't eat--"

"Be there in a bit," Jess said, not needing to hear anymore. He told Luke he was taking a break and ran across the street to Lane's house. He walked in and immediately spotted Lane polishing a desk, close to the door. "Lane!"

She jumped at the sound of his voice, "Oh, jeez, Jess!"

He walked over to her, making sure Mrs. Kim wasn't anywhere around, then spoke quietly, "Tell your mom you're staying the night at Rory's, and that its an emergency. Then go upstairs and pack a bag, and go to Lorelai's. Rory needs you."

Lane was confused, but ready to jump into action, "What happened?"

"Dean broke up with her." She ran to find her mother so fast that Jess half-expected her to leave a cartoonish cloud of dust behind. He exited the antiques store and went back to the diner and up to the apartment, gathering some of his albums, covering them with Post-Its and scribbling things on them. He stuffed them in his messenger bag and slung it across his shoulders, then quickly made his way to Doose's. The came in through the back and grabbed a shopping basket. He filled it with foods he knew Rory loved--marshmallows, Red Vines, ice cream, cookie dough, Beefaroni, et cetera--and went to check out. Dean was bagging groceries, and Jess felt a steady-rage boiling beneath his skin, and by the look in Dean's eye, he knew that he wasn't alone. He paid for the food, barely noticing the fact that he'd spent almost an entire paycheck on junk-food, and grabbed the bags from Dean. He was halfway out the door when he turned around, marched to the check-out stand, and punched Dean square in the jaw, throwing him to the floor. Jess then turned and made a quick pace to Lorelai's house.

Once he was there, Jess circled to the door he knew led to the kitchen and rapped on it lightly. Lorelai opened the door a moment later and stepped aside so that he could enter. Whispering, he asked, "Was Lane able to come?"

Lorelai nodded, also whispering, "Mrs. Kim isn't entirely heartless. And though I'm sure there was some 'serves her right for kissing boys' dialogue in there, she was happy to let Lane console a friend." She gestured to the paper bags, "Whatcha got there?"

Jess put the two bags on the table, "I know you said she wouldn't eat anything, but I figured I'd try anyway. I got everything she likes." He reached into the bag and retrieved the ice cream to put in the freezer, not wanting it to melt. When he turned back around, he lifted the flap of his messenger bag and pulled out several albums and handed them to Lorelai. "So, I'm gonna take off, now. Call if she needs anything; burgers, fries, doughnuts..." He shrugged.

Lorelai raised one eyebrow at him, "You're not staying?"

He sighed, "I want to, but I probably shouldn't. I mean, I think I probably had something to do with Dean's freak-out, and I don't want Rory to feel worse because I'm around." He turned and left before Lorelai could say anything else. Shaking her head, she took the albums and grabbed the bags and went to the living room.

Rory was curled up on the couch, her head on Lane's shoulder. She'd stopped crying, but was still sniffling. "What's that?" She asked in a cracked, wavering voice when her mother entered.

"Junk food," Lorelai said, dropping the bags on the coffee table so that Rory could reach them easily, "And music," she handed the albums to her.

Rory began flipping through them, trying to read the Post-Its through her still-blurry eyes. On **Foo Fighters: There Is Nothing Left to Lose**, the Post-It read, _for when you want to feel pleasently melancholy_. She realized that Jess had brought all of this, and grinned weakly as she continued to read the albums.

**Jimmy Eat World**, _for when you're pushing break-down_.

**Puddle of Mudd: Come Clean**, _track five, "Blurry," when you just need to cry._

**A Perfect Circle: Mer de Noms**, _great for a good mellow session_.

**Komeda: What Makes It Go**, _when you want to feel light and carefree_.

**Coldplay: A Rush of Blood to the Head**, _I know you don't like Coldplay, but trust me on track four, "The Scientist."_

**The Smiths: The Best of the Smiths [Vol. 1**, _because...its The Smiths_.

**Goo Goo Dolls: Dizzy Up the Girl**, _some ups and downs_.

Rory's fingers fell on the last album on the stack and the Post-It was filled with writing.

**Something Corporate: Ready...Break**, _so 1) you're never allowed to tell anyone I own this album; its too mortifying, and 2) listen closely to the lyrics of track five, "When It Goes Down," because...I'm not great at talking about things. Feel better soon, and I'm sorry_.

She looked at Lane and then her mother, "What mode am I in right now?"

"What do you mean, honey?" Lorelai asked gently.

"Am I in break-down mode, crying mode, mellow mode..." her voice trailed off.

Lane rested her head on top of her best friend's, "I think you're between crying mode and mellow mode."

Rory nodded and handed the Goo Goo Dolls album to her mother, who nodded wordlessly and put it in the stereo. Rory heard the opening lyrics to "Dizzy," sniffled a little, and began digging through the bags. Jess had bought all her favourites, because he knew she was hurting, and because he truly cared about her. This in itself sent her into another fit of crying, and Lorelai exchanged John Rzeznick for Jim Adkins and went to hold her daughter as "Bleed American" washed over them.

--

It was close to midnight and Rory was laying on the couch, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. Lane was sleeping on the opposite end, mumbling occassionally about Nico. Lorelai had turned in half an hour before, reluctantly, but knowing she had to get up and work in the morning. Sighing, Rory rolled off of the couch and stood in the middle of the living room for a moment, before she picked up some of the albums, a bag of jellybeans, and went to her room. She lay on her bed, eating the candies, and flipping through her music choices. Finally, as curiosity took over, she put the Something Corporate album in her portable disk player, covered her ears with her headphones, and skipped to track five. She listened closely to the lyrics, as Jess's message had instructed, and her eyes widened as she began to grasp his meaning.

"_When it all just fits  
No more waiting up 'till midnight  
To see if he comes home  
And it sinks in  
Through these holes in your old bed sheets  
You might spend your life alone  
And you don't want to be alone  
No, not alone_

When you think too much  
And you came to another game  
Despondent, out of touch  
And you reach so hard it makes you fall  
For these hands that let you go   
That shouldn't let you go at all  
That shouldnt let you go at all  
No, not at all

I don't know what its like to be you, baby  
But from the looks, I don't think I want to  
And I know I've been hanging on tight  
So maybe, it just might mean I want you  
Yeah, babe, I want you

You know what I mean  
When I say that I come from a place that hurts  
You fit in my scene   
And try to make everything work  
You watch me turn green  
I'd come down, yeah, but I might never land  
You said you'd understand   
But you don't want to be there  
When it goes down again 

Staring at the ceiling  
Gives me another feeling  
About who you are  
And you know I was really thinking  
I could be another Lincoln  
If I got this far  
If I got this far  
Driving in my car  
And then I started holding on to these I couldn't keep   
And the wise ass called me faggot  
But I feel more like a creep  
And these things creep  
I watch them creep  
And I don't get no sleep

I don't know what it's like to take it slow  
And from the feel I don't think I want to  
No, I don't want to  
And I now know  
And I know that it seems I'm letting go  
But the things I know, I know would haunt you  
And I don't want to haunt you

You know what I mean  
When I say that I come from a place that hurts  
You fit in my scene  
And try to make everything work  
You watch me turn green  
I'd come down, yeah, but I might never land  
You said you'd understand  
But you don't want to be there  
When it goes down again

You know what I mean  
When I say that I come from a place that hurts   
You fit in my scene  
And try to make everything work  
You watch me turn green  
I'd come down, yeah, but I might never land   
You said you'd understand  
But you don't want to be there  
You don't want to be there  
You don't want to be there  
When it goes down again  
When it goes down again"

**--**

_Yes, it was ALL R/J! And guess what? The next chapter is gonna be mostly R/J, too! Sorry! I'm a romance-multi-tasker! Its the Curse of the Irish: drinking too much and writing in too many different relationships. Another title thrown about on the subject is the 'Thayne-MacHern-Paradox.'_

_But, please, keep reading! And reviewing! And I promise, there will be more L/L!_


	8. Love Is A Penny Serenade

**Disclaimer: **_**Ask not for whom owns "Gilmore Girls," for it owns thee... Whatever I just said translates into "I don't own it."**_

**WARNING****: ONCE AGAIN, THIS CHAPTER IS A LOT OF R/J, AND A LITTLE L/L.**

**--**

Rory was woken the next morning by her mother gently shaking her shoulder. She rolled over and looked at her sleepily, trying to remember exactly what time she'd fallen asleep. She'd listened to "When It Goes Down" about a dozen times, and then stared at Colonel Clucker for a long while, trying to sort out everything she was feeling, and everything Jess was feeling. She couldn't have been asleep for more than three hours.

"Sweetie," Lorelai said quietly, "How are you feeling?"

Rory blinked heavily, "I have a headache," she whispered, finding her throat to scraped and dry to speak any louder, "Sore throat."

"You want me to call you in so you can stay home?" Rory nodded and Lorelai repeated the action, then stood and walked to the door. Before she left, she turned around and asked, "What about the heart?"

Rory put her hand on her chest, over her heart, "Needs a few band-aids." Lorelai sighed and gave her daughter a warm smile before going to call Chilton. Ten minutes later, she announced that she was going to work. About half an hour after that, Lane woke and dressed in Rory's room, making light conversation before she, too, left. When they were both gone, the house silent, Rory realized just how much she'd needed them there the night before. Being alone was unbearable. When this realization hit, she dragged her feet into the kitchen and found the cordless phone by the coffee pot. She dialed.

"Luke's."

"Luke," she said raspily, her voice still hoarse, "Is Jess still around?"

Luke's voice grew soft, "Oh, hey, Rory. Yeah, hold on," he covered the mouthpiece, "Jess, c'mere."

"'Lo?" Jess's voice came through.

"Hi," Rory replied.

Like Luke, Jess's voice grew very soft and quiet, "Hey, how are you?"

Rory knew it was pointless to lie to him, so she said, "Not great, but I'd probably be worse if not for your delivery. Thanks so much."

"It was no problem," he insisted.

She was quiet for a moment, debating whether or not she should ask what she wanted to ask, before she finally resolved to follow through, "You going to school today?"

She knew he was shrugging. "Thought about it. Jury's still out. You?"

"No," she told him, "Mom called me in. Day off."

"Probably for the best."

She knew she had to say it quick before she lost her nerve, "Could you...could you come over?"

"What?"

She sniffled, her voice breaking, "I don't wanna be alone." _You might spend your life alone, and you don't wanna be alone. No, not alone._ The lyrics played in her head. She could definitely relate to the song.

His voice was gentle, "Yeah, of course. I'll bring breakfast."

"Oh, no, Jess," Rory said, trying to get control over the tears that built behind her eyes. _Sluice, Gilmore, sluice_. "I still have tons of stuff from last night. You don't have to--"

"I'll bring breakfast," he repeated. She just smiled and thanked him before hanging up. Without brushing her hair, she pulled it back into a sloppy ponytail and finished off the last of the coffee in the pot before settling in front of the television, but not turning it on. She just stared at it.

Jess didn't arrive until almost forty-five minutes later. When Rory opened the door, he was holding a box of bags and containers, just like when he'd shown up during her study-session weeks before, and had his messenger bag around his shoulders. He entered without a word and went to the kitchen, putting the box next to the coffee table so that he coud empty the contents onto the table itself. Rory sat down on the couch and watched him expressionlessly. When he'd finished and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, Rory looked at him.

"You brought a feast."

He chuckled, "Just a little of everything. Cheddar omelet, muffins, doughnuts, bagels, bacon, sausage, blueberry pancakes, cinnamon pancakes, chocolate-chip pancakes, pumpkin pancakes, french toast, even some fruit. A peach pie," he gestured to the tin, "And," he reached into the box and pulled out a thermos and handed it to her, "Your favourite coffee."

Rory could barely speak, overwhelmed with food and emotion. "You went all out," she tried to joke, but her whispering voice gave her away.

Jess didn't pick up, or chose not to acknowledge her tone. He took his bag off and flipped it open, pulling out several VHS tapes and DVDs, "I also rented some of your favourites." Rory looked them over, and he really _had_ rented her favourites. Willy Wonka, The Way We Were, A Star is Born, Walk on the Wild Side, 1984, and Penny Serenade. Unable to keep it in anymore, Rory began to cry. She buried her face in her hands and sobbed. Almost instantly, she felt Jess's arm around her, rubbing up and down her arms gently, whispering words of solace into her ear that had no meaning.

"I'm so sorry," Jess whispered to her. "I was never president of Dean's fan club, and I know I didn't make things easier between the two of you, but I swear, Rory, I never wanted you to get hurt. And despite the fact that I can't stand him, I never thought Dean would do something like this. I'm so sorry."

"It was me," she hiccuped, "I wasn't good to him." After a pause she said, "I don't want to talk ab--about it."

Jess nodded and picked up the stack of movies, "What do you say? Walk on the Wild Side?" Still crying, unable to speak anymore, Rory just shook her head and pointed to Penny Serenade. Jess stood, "Cary Grant it is." He put the movie in and came back to the couch to sit with her. As the opening credits rolled, Rory slid into a laying position on the couch, putting a throw-pillow over Jess's lap so she could rest her head there. As he ran his fingers through her hair, her cries died down to tiny whimpers and she began picking food she could eat with her fingers from the containers. Halfway into the movie, she'd finished off all the sausage and bacon, and two bagels. She was barely paying attention to the movie anymore, or anything, for that matter. Jess's hand in her hair was making her sleepy, and her eyes began to droop lazily until she was completely out.

--

Lorelai came home at lunch, figuring Rory wouldn't want to be alone all day, and was surprised to find her daughter asleep in Jess's lap, on the couch. She walked around the stand at the arm of the couch, and kneeled next to it, speaking quietly to Jess. "Hey."

He turned to her, his own eyes full of fatigue, "Hey. She ate some breakfast, and she's been out for about four hours."

Lorelai smiled slightly, running her hand down the side of her daughter's face, "How was she, when she was awake?"

Jess shook his head, "Not great. She cried for a while."

Lorelai paused and cocked an eyebrow at him, "Have you been sitting like that for _four whole hours_?" Jess, still stroking Rory's hair, nodded. "Don't you have school?"

He sighed, "She called. She said she didn't want to be alone. I just couldn't--" He frowned, "Couldn't let her go it alone."

"I'm glad you stayed with her," Lorelai said sincerely. "But do you think, maybe I could have her for a few hours? You go on to school, or back to the diner, wherever. I'm not kicking you out," she insisted, seeing the look on his face, "Really. I just, ya know, I want to be with my kid." Jess nodded and stopped stroking Rory's hair.

"Mm," Rory grumbled after a few seconds, noticing his hand had stopped. "What are you doing?"

"I gotta go," Jess whispered to her.

"Hm-mm," Rory's eyes were still closed, but she was somewhat coherent. Her fist tightened around the denim that covered his knees.

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Your mom's here now. She'll stay with you. Call me if you need anything, okay?" She reluctantly let go of his jeans and he stood. Lorelai walked him to the door, noticing his own reluctance to leave.

"I had you pegged all wrong," she admitted, slightly disappointed in herself.

Jess shook his head, "You didn't. That sarcastic kid that's always getting into trouble and fighting? That's me. I just--she makes me different," he admitted shyly. Lorelai nodded knowingly and they said their goodbyes.

--

"Luke," Jess entered the diner a little while later and immediately spotted his uncle behind the counter.

Luke looked up, "Hey, don't worry, I called you in. How's Rory?"

Jess frowned, hands in his pocket, "She'll live, but it probably doesn't feel that way to her." He walked up to the counter and lowered his voice, "Can we...you know...can we talk?"

Luke's brow furrowed, "Talk, as in, serious talk?" Jess nodded. "Sure," they both went up to the apartment. Soon, they were sitting across from each other at the kitchen table, Jess's eyes on the floor.

"What's being in love like?"

The question, on top of being very blunt and out of the blue, was one that Luke never thought he'd hear his nephew ask him. "Um, I don't know if I'm really an expert."

Jess shrugged, "You've probably got more to go on than I do."

Luke sighed and wrinkled his forehead, thinking for a long time. "I guess," he started slowly, "Its like living. Ups and downs, you know. There's good times, and there's bad times, and you've gotta be real patient to get what you want."

"How do you know what you want?"

"Jeez," Luke said, thinking again. "You know because...you just know. You meet this person that you're so completely drawn to, but not because of all the good stuff. Its not like casual dating, when you see someone that can take a joke and likes the same movies as you. I mean, its partly that, but its more than that. Its...you know that she has all these annoying tendencies that you can't stand, and you _think _you _know_ you'd never be able to put up with that, but then you see all of her good qualities, and that makes up for the bad. Or, she'll do something to make you so angry, or so frustrated, and you don't think you'll ever forgive her, but then she does something completely amazing, and you can't help but forgive her. And you know because, when she smiles, or when her eyes light up just right, you can't imagine anything more beautiful than that, and you feel like you never want to be anywhere else, or be anyone else than that person that makes her smile like that, or makes her eyes light up that way. You know because, after you've met her, you can't picture yourself with anyone else _but_ her."

Luke had begun talking to himself somewhere around "its more than that." When he finished, his eyes were a little wider, and his breathing was slightly heavier than before.

For a long time, he and Jess just sat in silence, both thinking, both considering. Finally, Jess looked up with an incredulous look on his face, "My _god_, why are you still sitting there, man?"

At that, Luke stood up, grabbed his jacket from the coatrack, and went downstairs and out the door.

--

Lorelai had just helped a groggy Rory into her bedroom so that she could have a better sleep and was now gathering up the leftover breakfast food to save in the refrigerator. When a hard knock interrupted her, she went to the door, expecting to find Jess there, knowing he was worried about Rory. Instead, she found Luke.

"Luke!" She said, surprised.

"Hey," he grinned nervously, "Where's Rory?"

"Asleep."

"Ah. She okay?"

"She will be." Lorelai noticed that Luke seemed nervous, "What's going on?"

She'd just barely finished the question when Luke's lips fell softly upon hers, kissing her sweetly, gently, angelically. When he pulled back, he looked into her eyes; they were a bright, smiling blue. He took a deep breath and took her hands in his, keeping his gaze on hers, "Lorelai."

"Mhm?"

"I'm in love with you."

**--**

_The next chapter will hopefully rebalance R/J and L/L. We'll see!_


	9. When Arnold Rothstein Loves You

**Disclaimer: **_**I don't own "Gilmore Girls," but that will all change once my mind-control device is complete.**_

**PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE A/N AT THE END OF THIS CHAPTER!**

**--**

"_Lorelai_."

"_Mhm_?"

"_I'm in love with you_."

--

Lorelai's eyes went wide and attentive and she teetered a bit before finding her balance. She opened her mouth and, unable to think of anything else, stammered, "Ar-are you sure?"

Luke chuckled at this, but his face still held a frightening seriousness, "Completely. I think I've been in love with you for a while."

"You _think_ you have?"

He shrugged slightly, "What's that expression you use? The one about denial?"

"It ain't just a river," she recited on automation, her eyes still searching his, making sure he meant what he was saying. "Luke, you really love me?" He nodded. "Luke, I-I'm n--"

Luke cut her off. "Lorelai," he said softly, sincerely, "You don't have to say it back. I know that this is the beginning of the relationship, and you can't possibly know something like that right off the bat. Its just something I've been feeling, and I needed to tell you. But you take your time, okay? Because I'm gonna be around for a long time."

Lorelai smiled, relieved, and nodded, "You'd better be." Then she jerked on his arms, urging him to come closer to her. He complied, draping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him, kissing her with a softness that was soon replaced by her own forceful desire. She put both of her hands flat against his back and pressed herself against him, kissing him so hard that she could feel the bruises forming on her lips. Max, Christopher, both of these men had told her that they loved her, and she'd believed them. She'd believed that they loved her, but not that she was the only woman they'd _ever_ love. With Luke, she felt that assurance. Luke was all in, just for her. He loved her, completely, and it was a true, once-in-a-lifetime thing for him. This knowledged made her press herself even closer, letting her tongue sneak across his lips and into his mouth, where the happily welcomed it with his own.

"Mom?" A tired voice called from the kitchen, "Where'd you put those muffins Jess brought?"

Lorelai pulled away from Luke quickly, struggling to make her breathing normal before answering, "Um, on top of the refrigerator, babe." She gave him an apologetic smile and whispered, "I'm gonna go sit with her."

He nodded, understanding. He was always so understanding and patient, and she knew she got lucky. "Yeah," he told her, "You go on. I gotta get back to the diner."

Lorelai gave him a quick peck on the lips before shutting the door and going into the kitchen. She was surprised to find her daughter fully dressed, picking at a banana-nut muffin. "Going somewhere?" When Rory's eyes went to her shoes bashfully, Lorelai nodded wisely, "I see. You miss Jess already."

Rory blushed and launched into a sort of rant, "Is that horrible? I mean, my boyfriend _just_ broke up with me _because_ of Jess, and all I can think is that I want to be around Jess. When he was here earlier, I was just so comfortable and calm, and I want to feel like that again."

Lorelai looked at the kitchen clock, "He hasn't even been gone for half an hour." Rory blushed again. "Ah, hon, you've got it bad." Not wanting to further this conversation, her daughter said a quick goodbye and went out the door.

--

Jess had been spacey ever since his talk with Luke, walking around the diner on automation, not really paying any mind to what he was doing. When Luke came back, he told Jess that he shouldn't be working, because it was against certain laws to have a high school student working during school hours, so Jess settled in at the counter, reading a book, but not paying attention to the text. He didn't even notice when the diner door opened and someone came to sit next to him.

"Hey," a voice said quietly. He glanced up and saw Rory grinning weakly at him. He turned his head back to his book and spoke in a distracted voice.

"Hey. Up and around?"

"Looks like."

He nodded absentmindedly, "Lots of progress since I left. That mother of yours is really somethin'."

Rory shrugged, "Wasn't just her."

"Okay," Jess mumbled, not commenting further than that.

Rory frowned at him, "Jess, are you okay?"

He looked up, "Me? Peachy. Why do you ask?"

"You just seem kind of...distant."

"Just thinkin'," his eyes turned to the book again.

She was quiet for a moment, waiting for him to go on. When he didn't, she lowered her eyes at him, "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really."

Rory stared for another moment, then sighed in annoyance. "You know what? Fine. Every guy in the world feels like being a complete ass this week? That's just fine by me." She stood.

Jess looked up only to give her a cockeyed stare, "Whoa, whoa. Testy much?"

She ignored this comment, "Just forget it. I guess all your latest altruism was just a fluke, huh?" She turned and left then, walking back home. She came through the door wordlessly, causing her mother to stare her down in confusion. Rory gave her the I-don't-want-to-talk look and went to her room, where she crawled under her covers and began to cry again. She felt completely alone now. Dean was gone--he hated her--and Jess, the only bright light in her tunnel, had suddenly gone apathetic on her. She was vaguely aware of her mother's hand rubbing her back as she cried.

Lorelai hated seeing her daughter in pain, knowing there wasn't anything she could do--anything she could say--that would make her feel better. She'd never felt more helpless. "Sweetie," she started in a gentle voice.

"Don't," Rory commanded in a thick voice.

"Don't what?"

Rory rolled over to look at her, "Don't try to make me feel better. We don't live in a movie-world; we can't just have one of those ultra-meaningful mother-daughter moments and then--BAM!--suddenly all is well in the pathetic life of Rory Gilmore."

"You are _not_ pathetic," Lorelai insisted, slightly taken aback by her daughter's harsh tone.

"Save it," Rory grumbled, turning away again. "Just--could you just leave me alone?"

Lorelai gaped at her, standing slowly, "Um, okay, sure." Another wave of helplessness washed over her, fully realizing how much she was hurting, and she found she, herself, was close to tears. "Um, sorry," she added before leaving. She sat down at the kitchen table for a long time, listening to her daughter's sobs in the next room, no end to them apparent. Almost an hour later, Lorelai couldn't take it anymore; she couldn't stand feeling like she was worthless. She grabbed her keys and left.

--

It was the midafternoon lull at the diner. Jess was still reading absently, and Luke was wiping down some of the tables when Lorelai entered. She spotted him and, before he could say anything, grabbed his arm and led him up the stairs to his apartment. Once inside, Lorelai wrapped her arms around Luke's back and buried her face into his chest, trying to feel good again. His arms slowly came around to embrace her, one hand on her lower back, the other on the back of her neck, stroking the hair that fell there.

"Lorelai?"

"Tell me again," she said quickly.

"Tell you what?" Luke asked, completely lost.

She sniffed to hold back her tears, "That you love me. Tell me again."

His eyes softened and he rubbed her back gingerly, "I love you."

"And I'm not worthless, right?"

He pushed her away so that he could look at her, searching her eyes carefully, "What? Of course not. Why would you think that?"

She shook her head and resumed her previous position, holding him tightly, and whispered, "One more time, okay?"

He nodded, kissing her left temple and then whispering in her ear, "I love you, Lorelai Gilmore."

"Thank you," her voice was almost inaudible, eyes squeezed shut.

Luke led her over to the couch and sat down, pulling her down next to him. He put one arm around her waist, still holding her close to comfort her, "Wanna tell me what this is all about?"

She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder, "My baby is hurting, and I feel like I can't do anything to stop it."

"Did something else happen?"

Lorelai shrugged, "I don't know; that's just it! She said she was going to come here, because she wanted to see Jess. She said that he made her feel comfortable and calm, but then she came back and threw herself onto her bed and broke down again." She pulled her knees up to her chest and leaned fully against Luke, "The worst part is, she seemed so angry, and so hurt. She snapped at me and told me to leave her alone. I just--" her resolve broke along with her voice and a few tears began to run down her cheeks, "I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her. I don't know how to...fix her. _God_, I have _never_ felt like a bad mother before, but--"

"Hey," Luke squeezed her waist comfortingly, "Stop there. You've never felt like a bad mother, because you've never _been_ a bad mother. This is just something she has to go through, okay?" Lorelai nodded against his shoulder and sighed again, closing her eyes.

--

Outside, Jess had come up the stairs to grab a new book when he'd caught snippits of the conversation through the apartment door.

"_...She wanted to see Jess. She said that he made her feel comfortable and calm, but then she came back and threw herself into her bed and broke down again. The worst part is, she seemed so angry and hurt, and so hurt_."

Upon hearing this, Jess's eyes widened and he went back down the steps. A small while later, he was pounding furiously on Lorelai's door. When it swung open, revealing a puffy-eyed, shocked Rory, Jess started shaking his head, his eyes on the ground, "Where do you off being the angry one?!" He snapped. It wasn't really angry yelling, like it had been with Dean the day before; Jess seemed rattled.

Still, Rory immediately went into defense-mode, "Ex_cuse_ me?"

He didn't answer her, instead he looked up, fire in his eyes, and said, "I never gave a damn about _anyone_. I could always relate very well to Arnold Rothstein quotes. Look out for number one, because no one else will. I never had to care about _anyone_. Not my mom, not Luke, not _anyone_! And let me tell you, that whole not-caring thing? Very easy way to live life; quite enjoyable, actually."

Rory had crossed her arms and now put up one hand to stop him, "Does this divine realization have a point?" Her voice was cold, and she was struggling to make her eyes match, but she knew that if he looked hard enough, Jess would see the pain still there.

"I never _had_ to care," he told her almost desperately, "I never _wanted_ to. Then, I'm forced to move to this stupid town, and I meet you, and you..." He chuckled humourlessly and put his hands on his head, then brought them back down furiously, "You _completely_ screwed me, Gilmore!"

Her own temper caught, "And just how the hell did I do that, huh?!"

"You were there!" He shouted, then his voice dropped and he shook his head, "You were there, and you..." His mind wandered to what Luke had said to him before, "You smiled that way you do, and your eyes lit up the way they do, and I never wanted to be anywhere else." He paused, then picked his rant back up, "And in the past two days, I've spent nearly two-hundred dollars on you, trying to console you, not because I was trying to take advantage of your situation, but because it honest-to-god _hurt_ me to see _you_ hurting. I was so sure that the guy I was when I got here was the guy I would be for the rest of my life, and I loved that idea. Then you come along, and suddenly I'm the poster-boy for the 'Mister Rogers' treatment, playing nice with all the neighbours. You changed me from something I was perfectly happy being!"

Rory's face softened considerably, "Jess, what are you--"

"I think I'm in love with you," he said in a rush, "And I don't know if I'm okay with that." And in true Jess fashion, he turned around and left her standing there, wide-eyed and trying desperately to process all of this information. When it all sunk in, and Rory realized that Jess had gone, her brow furrowed and she went after him.

--

Lorelai was still resting against Luke when Jess barged through the door. He gave them a not-a-word look and went to sit on the edge of his bed, running one hand through his hair, deep in thought. Shortly after, there were three harsh knocks on the door and Jess glanced at Luke and Lorelai before going to open the door.

Rory stood on her other side, her face contorted somewhere between anger, confusion, and reverance. "What the _hell_ is your problem?!" Lorelai recognized her daughter's voice, but said nothing, just listened as Rory went on, "You don't just show up at someone's house and go on an endless rant, drop that bombshell, and then bolt; that's not the way it works!"

Jess bit the inside of his cheek nervously, "Could we not do this right here?"

She scoffed, "Oh, so its perfectly okay for you to show up on my doorstep, but not vise versa? You're a real piece of work, Mariano."

He sighed, "I still need time to think; process."

"You should have _thought_ and _processed_ before your outstanding speech, Dr. King. Welcome to the here and now; what're you gonna do?"

"I don't know!" He shouted, "This is new freakin' territory for me, here, Rory. Its gonna take me longer than that, and if its not convenient for you, that's too damn bad."

Luke opened his mouth to scold Jess for raising his voice so, but was stopped by Lorelai putting her hand on his chest and shaking her head at him.

Rory looked down, "Yeah, too damn bad." She sighed and shrugged, then turned to walk away. Jess shut the door and looked at the two adults on the couch, a heavy blush staining his cheeks.

Lorelai bit her lip, "Um, I don't know exactly what that was, but I think I heard enough to know that standing there stupidly is the last thing you should be doing." She nodded toward the door and Jess stared at it for a few beats, thinking, before he threw it open and ran after Rory. He caught her just as she was about to descend the steps, and he grabbed one of her shoulders to turn her around.

Without saying anything, Jess leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to Rory's lips, holding her face in his hands. It only took her a millisecond to reciprocate, applying a matching pressure to his lips and letting her hands wrap around his arms, just above his elbows. It was a short kiss, and Jess pulled away first, still holding Rory's face, running his thumbs over her cheekbones. "There's the here-and-now," he whispered. "Can I have some more time to think about the what-comes-next?" Rory stared into his eyes before she nodded slowly. He let out a sigh of relief, "Thankyou," the pressed another light kiss against her lips before returning to the apartment.

"Hey," Lorelai said when he entered, "You kiss my kid?"

"I kissed your kid," he sounded incredulous, barely believing it had finally happened.

Lorelai smiled, "You love my kid?"

Jess let out a deep breath, "I might love your kid."

"She kiss you back?"

"She kissed me back."

"She love you back?"

Jess's eyes met her, and they seemed full of fear and apprehension, and silent prayers, "God, I hope so."

Lorelai chuckled, snuggling closer to Luke, "Oh, you Danes boys. What are us Gilmore girls to do with you?"

Luke brought his lips to her ear and said lowly something she never thought she'd hear him say.

"Dirty."

**--**

_Oh, jeez, please don't kill me, but...this fanfiction is now complete! Now, if I get enough reviews saying that I should, I will write a one-shot follow-up to this...follow-up to a one-shot...and sort of conclude things. But, for that to happen, you DO have to leave me some REVIEWS!_

_Thank you for reading, and keep some tabs on Thayne MacHern, but a little birdie told me she might be doing a string of one-shots and song-fics here pretty soon!_

_I LOVE YOU ALL[Don't forget to R&R!_

_ Thayne MacHern _


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